ATLANTA, June 1 (UPI) -- Verizon Wireless entered hurricane season Thursday with a fleet of mobile cell transmitters and backup generators at most of its facilities.
Cell phones are expected to be a major means of communications before, during and after a major Gulf Coast storm, and Verizon Wireless said it had a full contingency plan in place.
"We take our role in public safety very seriously," said Jim McGean, president of Verizon Wireless in Georgia and Alabama.
Nearly all of Verizon's cell sites in the Southeast have backup generators while repair units are equipped with hundreds of portable generators and COW (Cell On Wheels) vehicles for use in areas where permanent towers have been knocked out.
Customers in hurricane country are urged to keep their phones fully charged and have extra cell batteries on hand in case power goes out for a long period.
In addition, users can preprogram emergency and family phone numbers into their handsets and can monitor weather and emergency Web sites over Internet-capable phones. Short text messaging can be used to both conserve minutes and reduce congestion on the system.
