Cingular Offers Wireless Tips to Help Consumers Prepare for Tropical Storm Alberto
13 June 2006
Cingular Wireless realizes the important role wireless communication plays in emergency situations, such as Tropical Storm Alberto, and offers the following tips to help consumers prepare for the storm:
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040930/CINGLOGO-a)
- Program all emergency contact numbers into your wireless phone. Store
numbers for 9-1-1, the police department, fire station, hospital, as
well as your family members so you don't have to think about it during
and after an emergency.
- Have a family communications plan in place. Designate someone out of
the area as a central contact, and make certain all family members know
who to contact if they become separated.
- Keep your wireless phone batteries charged at all times. Use your car
charger to charge your wireless phone when power is out, or pick up a
disposable battery that will give you an hour of talk time without any
charging.
- Keep your wireless phone dry and protected. The biggest threat from
hurricanes is water versus wind damage so keep your equipment safe from
the elements by storing it in a plastic sandwich or freezer bag.
- Forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an
evacuation. Since call forwarding is based out of the telephone central
office, you will get incoming calls from your landline phone, even if
your local telephone service is disrupted at your home. In the unlikely
event the central office is isolated, call forwarding may not work.
- Try text messaging, or SMS (Short Messaging Service). Most wireless
phones today are text messaging capable, and often times during an
emergency situation such as a hurricane, text messages will go through
quicker than voice calls. More importantly, using text messaging helps
free up the voice lines for emergency officials.
- Keep non-emergency calls to a minimum. Remember to limit your calls to
the most important ones. Chances are that if there is severe weather,
many people will be attempting to place wireless calls to loved ones,
friends and business associates. If the landline phones are not
working, this probability increases.
- Wait 10 seconds before redialing a call. On many wireless phones, to
redial a number, you simply push "send" after you've ended a call to
redial the previous number. If you do this too quickly, the data from
the phone to the cell sites does not have enough time to clear before
you've resent the same data and may contribute to network congestion.
- Use your wireless phone to access weather information. Many homes lose
power during severe weather. If you have a wireless phone that provides
access to the Internet, you can watch the Weather Channel through our
Mobi-TV service or though My-Cast Weather.
- If you have a camera phone, take, store and send photos of damaged
property to your insurance company from your device.
The nation's largest wireless carrier has invested more than $60 million this year hardening its network in preparation for the 2006 hurricane season. In addition to adding 1,200 permanent and portable generators to cell sites in hurricane-prone areas, Cingular has expanded its emergency response plan to include two new state-of-the-art mobile command centers and two emergency communication vehicles that can be brought into an affected area quickly, providing full communications capabilities.
"Cingular's goal is to be as prepared as possible whenever and wherever disaster hits," said Dan Norman, vice-president and general manager of Cingular's North, Central and West Florida markets.
Cingular provides updated information on its hurricane preparation and tips for consumers to stay in touch during and after a storm at http://www.cingularhurricaneupdates.com/.
About Cingular Wireless
Cingular Wireless is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving 55.8 million customers. Cingular, a joint venture between AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and BellSouth Corporation (NYSE: BLS), has the largest digital voice and data network in the nation -- the ALLOVER(TM) network -- and the largest mobile-to-mobile community of any national wireless carrier. Cingular is a leader in third generation wireless technology. Its 3G network is the first widely available service in the world to use HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology. Cingular is the only U.S. wireless carrier to offer Rollover(R), the wireless plan that lets customers keep their unused monthly minutes. Details of the company are available at http://www.cingular.com/. Get Cingular Wireless press releases emailed to you automatically. Sign up at http://cingular.mediaroom.com/.
Source: prnewswire
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