Hurricane Ian: AT&T Prepared To Respond To Cell Phone Outages

TAMPA, FL — AT&T is preparing for Hurricane Ian with an arsenal of disaster response equipment and personnel on standby to support impacted communities and public safety in case cell phone towers go down.

The company is staging other emergency response and network recovery equipment in strategic locations for quick deployment following the storm.

AT&T has installed more generators at critical cell towers and switching facilities, and moved electronics essential to network operations above expected flood levels. Additionally, its Network Disaster Recovery team is on standby in Florida and prepared to deploy assets as needed.

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“Customers and first responders rely on us, especially during major storms," said Joe York, president of AT&T Florida. “That's why we practice readiness drills and simulations throughout the year. And we do all we can to have our networks prepared when severe weather strikes. We’ve worked for the past few days to position equipment and crews and are ready to respond when needed. We’re also closely linked with Florida public officials in their storm response efforts.”

Stay up-to-date by viewing all Hurricane Ian coverage on Patch here.

The AT&T Network Disaster Recovery program is one of the industry’s largest and most advanced disaster response programs. AT&T's fleet includes hundreds of technology recovery and support trailers that can be quickly deployed to support customers and first responders.

Response equipment readied in the wake of an event includes:

• Mobile cell sites and command centers
• Portable generators and fuel
• Amphibious vehicles to reach equipment in flooded areas
• Emergency communications vehicles
• Drones for assessing cell site damage
• Self-sufficient base camps complete with sleeping bunks, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry facilities, an on-site nurse and meals ready to eat
• Hazmat equipment and supplies
• Technology and support trailers to provide infrastructure support and mobile heating ventilation and air conditioning
• Internal and external resources for initial assessment and recovery efforts .

Battery-Saving Tips To Stay Connected

Battery life should not be left up to chance. Things like display modes and connections can drain a battery when needed the most. AT&T suggests these tips to preserve battery life on your devices:

Switch to low power mode.

• Use Power Save mode (Android) or Lower Power Mode (iOS) to help your phone use less resources that can drain your battery.

Adjust display options. Display options can be the most demanding on your battery.

• Reduce the display resolution on your device or turn on auto-brightness.
• Turn your Screen Timeout to 30 secs.
• Turn off the Always-On option.
• And, if you have an OLED display, turn on Dark Mode.

Anytime your phone makes a connection, it consumes battery power.

• When not in use, turn off your Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

Updates, backups and downloads can quickly drain your device.

• In settings, postpone updates and backups for your apps, which are usually set to update as needed.
• Back up and store important documents to the cloud as part of your pre-storm preparation.
• Avoid downloading large files, apps or games when you are trying to preserve battery life.