Hurricane season starts June 1: Carriers harden networks

Sean Donelan sean at donelan.com
Tue May 27 21:18:05 UTC 2008


<http://www.gcn.com/print/27_12/46335-1.html>
[...]
   The most common threat to communications during a severe storm is not
   destruction of physical infrastructure but loss of power. Individual
   cell sites tend to survive high winds and flooding, Walsh said.

   "That is a testament to the site planning" for the towers, she said.
   "That's why we focus on backup power." 
[...]
   "Our expectation is that backup will last long enough to get power back
   up," Walsh said. "Most outages are of a relatively short duration." But
   there are times when outages can outlast generators' reserve batteries
   or fuel supplies, and service then depends on getting more fuel into
   the stricken areas. If roads are not passable, service could be lost
   during an extended outage.


The official spokespeople don't mention it, but there is also a tendency 
for local officials to divert fuel delivery trucks for their use instead
of maintaining communication facilities.





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