RIDGELAND, Miss., June 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- C Spire's
bolstered network and highly-trained staff is ready to respond
to emergencies and widespread natural disasters if they occur this
summer during the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.
"Our preparations ... give customers maximum ... reliability at the
time of greatest need" - Carla
Lewis, CTO, C Spire
The official federal outlook calls for an above average season
of up to 20 tropical storms (wind speeds of 39 mph or higher), 6 to
10 hurricanes (74 mph or higher) and three to five major hurricanes
(111 mph or higher winds) forming in the Atlantic Ocean during the
six-month period that officially begins today (Tuesday, June 1).
C Spire hardens its extensive wireless and wireline networks and
prepares its workforce for a wide range of potential disasters,
including major weather events such as hurricanes. The
company routinely reviews and updates its emergency preparedness
and crisis communications plans and conducts drills throughout the
year to test the readiness of its network and employees.
"As we saw with a record year in 2020, it remains critically
important that everyone prepares for the upcoming hurricane
season," said Carla Lewis, Chief
Technology Officer for C Spire. "Our preparations are
designed to give customers maximum communications reliability at
the time of greatest need."
2020 was a record year in the Atlantic with 30 named storms and
14 hurricanes, seven of which were considered major, including
Laura, whose 150-mile-per-hour winds battered Louisiana and produced 77 fatalities and
$19 billion in damages. Six other
major hurricanes killed 296 people and caused $26.5 billion in damages.
2021 has already proven to be an unprecedented year for severe
weather with record rainfall, 15 tornadoes, six deaths, damages to
homes and businesses and widespread flooding. With multiple federal
disaster declarations and more pending for Mississippi, first responders are preparing
for the worst during the upcoming hurricane season.
"These destructive and deadly weather events are stark reminders
of how powerful Mother Nature can be," said Stephen C. McCraney, executive director of the
Mississippi Emergency Management
Agency. "It's important for everyone to remain vigilant and
stay prepared. Pay attention to weather warnings, evacuation
notices, check your evacuation kits and develop an evacuation plan
before a disaster happens," he added.
Lewis said all C Spire employees and contractors, along with an
extensive suite of network resources, will be on "high alert"
throughout the 2021 hurricane season, which begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30. The company also is ready to
activate its Emergency Response and Crisis Communications plans,
which guide the use of resources and personnel during a crisis and
the overall response to a natural disaster.
C Spire routinely takes precautionary steps and puts restoration
teams through various training and test scenarios and masses
equipment and materials to protect critical network facilities and
cell sites. The company uses back up batteries and diesel
generators at mobile sites and switching centers and arranges for
replacement fuel supplies in case normal fuel delivery options are
interrupted by commercial power outages or road closures.
The company operates multiple hurricane-ready "super switches"
that provide added protection and service assurance for customers.
The high-tech telecommunications switching facilities are designed
to withstand a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 155 miles an
hour, connect millions of calls, wireless data transmissions, video
content and other critical services daily for consumer and business
customers. In addition to hardened and reinforced shells, the
all-steel and concrete buildings house large-scale 500-kilowatt
diesel power generators, a grid of back up batteries and other
redundant back-up systems, operations and technologies.
Some of the structures feature a 9-inch think external
steel-reinforced precast concrete walls welded to 6-foot-wide
spread footings. In addition to multiple redundant power
feeds, the buildings also boast giant diesel generators each
capable of producing 1.65 megawatts of continuous power, enough to
light thousands of homes and businesses.
C Spire also relies on an extensive network of microwave
technology that can circumvent damaged or destroyed landline
systems and ensure that communications can be routed to their final
destination, Lewis said. "Microwave technology can assist
with communications during natural disasters when landline systems
are down," she added.
In addition, C Spire Business, the company's business IT
division, offers firms of all sizes data protection services with
cloud backup and disaster recovery. The division also will be
hosting a series of in-person and virtual online sessions for
business owners to learn how to better protect their critical
data.
C Spire Home, the company's fixed broadband division, also
offers highly reliable and virtually weather-proof fiber-based,
ultra-fast Gigabit internet access and related services to
consumers and businesses in Mississippi and Alabama.
"This infrastructure, our continuing network investments and our
dedicated, customer-inspired workforce will help ensure that
essential communications continue for our consumer and business
customers even when we experience severe weather events, natural
disasters and other life-threatening situations," Lewis said.
The company is coordinating its emergency response efforts with
local, state and federal agencies and organizations, including the
Mississippi Emergency Management
Agency, the Alabama Emergency
Management Agency the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service, the
American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
About C Spire
C Spire is a diversified
telecommunications and technology services company that provides
world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit
consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated
Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data, cloud and managed IT services
for businesses and enterprises. This news release and other
announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more
information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at
www.twitter.com/cspire.
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SOURCE C Spire