 AlakarFacts do not cease to exist when ignored join:2001-03-23 Milwaukee, WI | AT&T put this out yesterday day.... before this story broke. Hey Karl Bode ! How come you never post up news items like this?
»www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4···id=24613
San Diego, California, October 25, 2007
In response to the Southern California wildfires, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced mobilized resources for the anticipated largest customer-support and infrastructure-restoration effort in AT&T's California history. Although the telecommunications network continues to perform well during the crisis, the company is extending its community support services and calling upon resources from throughout the state and nation to restore telecommunications infrastructure that has been damaged in the fire.
Wireline Network
The network continues to perform well with minimal disruptions. Network congestion has eased and most calls are now completing normally. Due to severe burn damage to a nine-mile fiber connection, the communities of Julian and Warner Springs remain isolated able to make calls within the community but not beyond. Technicians are currently working to establish a temporary microwave radio link to reconnect service to those areas. The communities of Dulzura and Silverado Canyon also remain isolated. Fiber connections will be restored as soon as conditions permit. AT&T is establishing emergency resource staging areas in San Diego County as central points of coordination for materials, technicians and vehicles involved in the restoration effort.
Wireless Network
More than 99 percent of cell sites in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura counties are functioning normally. Since the start of the fires, 28 cell sites have been restored in these areas. In San Diego County, the wireless network is at 95 percent capacity, despite call volumes running 30 to 50 percent above normal. AT&T crews have restored service to 27 cell sites since the crisis began Sunday. Additional capacity continues to be added to key cell sites to ensure network quality for emergency responders and customers.
Community Support
AT&T is establishing mobile customer service centers located at four local assistance centers, including the Fallbrook Community Center, Ramona Community School, Rancho Bernardo Community Center and Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego. Service representatives will be available to help residents with billing needs, relocation of services and other issues, as well as free wireless phone calls for responders and evacuees. At those centers, AT&T has also worked with San Diego County to install key infrastructure, including T-1 lines, a total of 60 voice lines and enhanced wireless capacity. AT&T has established a Wi-Fi hot spot at QUALCOMM Stadium to provide free wireless Internet service to evacuees at the facility. AT&T has also established support centers that offer free wireless calls at evacuation centers in Temecula and San Bernardino. For residents and small businesses displaced by the fires, AT&T California is providing certain voice mail and call forwarding features, free of charge, for 30 days to displaced consumers and small businesses. For customers who need a local service line installed at a temporary or new location, the Line Connection Fee will be waived. AT&T residential customers displaced by the fires can call 1-877-722-6787, and small business customers can call 1-800-750-2355 to have the services set up.
And this today:
»www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4···id=24614
AT&T Offers Free Phones to Displaced San Diegans
2,000 GoPhone Devices With $10 in Air Time Available to Residents from Mandatory Evacuation Areas
San Diego, California, October 26, 2007
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced the availability of 2,000 GoPhone devices with $10 in air time to residents who were ordered to evacuate their homes during the past week. The phones will be made available on a first-come, first-serve basis while supplies last to residents who live in any area in San Diego County that was declared a mandatory evacuation area during this week's fires.
The phones will be available at all company-owned AT&T retail locations and at local community assistance locations in Fallbrook, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo and Rancho San Diego; where AT&T has established on-site customer service centers. The phones will provide up to 90 minutes of usage time.
"In times of crisis, the ability to connect with family and friends is a necessity and, at the same time, comforting," said Tammi Terrell, vice president and general manager for AT&T's wireless unit in San Diego. "Hopefully, this offer will provide those affected by the devastating fires with an opportunity to either take care of critical needs or simply reconnect with loved ones."
Residents eligible for the offer must be 16 years or older and show a valid photo identification, including ZIP code from an area declared a mandatory evacuation area. The offer is good for one phone for each person.
In San Diego County, AT&T's wireless network continues to operate at near-normal levels. AT&T crews have restored service to 27 cell sites since the crisis began Sunday.
-- "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom; it is the arguments of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." William Pitt the Younger |