Verizon Wireless Says Its Network is Ready for Blackouts and Other Summer Emergencies

With the possibility of another summer of record-breaking electricity use, Verizon Wireless is assuring customers that the company prepared to keep its wireless network up and running during power outages that can result from summer storms and increased electricity usage due to high temperatures and humidity.

"Verizon Wireless is committed to providing reliable wireless communication for our customers during the dog days of summer and any type of summer weather emergency," said Dick Lynch, executive vice president and chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless. "Our year-round focus on improving and maintaining our network ensures that we are prepared to operate when our customers are most in need."

Verizon Wireless says its network is built for reliability in emergencies—such as power blackouts and extreme weather conditions—with redundancy capabilities in place to maintain services for customers.

The company says all facilities have battery back-up power and generators installed at all switching facilities, and many cell site locations. Verizon Wireless also a fleet of portable generators that can be deployed to provide emergency power during extended power outages to those cell sites without permanent generators. In addition, the company operates "Cell on Wheels" (COW), which are fully functional, generator-powered mobile cell sites that enhance coverage and capacity in a given area. A COW can accommodate both voice and CDMA data services.

Verizon Communications' national wireline network of central office switching systems also have back-up power in the form of batteries and back-up generators that automatically keep the switch running when commercial electrical power is lost. Verizon monitors traffic on the network around the clock, and says it can quickly manage calling and data traffic around problem areas. Much of Verizon's national inter-city network contains redundant and diverse routing so that customers can still make calls if one part of the network is damaged.

For more on how Verizon is preparing for the summer, check out the Verizon Wireless press release.