Wireless Carriers Seek Faster Repairs

WIRELESS CARRIERS SEEK FASTER REPAIRS
[SOURCE: Mobile Tech Today]
A year after Hurricane Katrina, a squabble has broken out among the utilities on the front lines of disasters over whether cellphone service should get priority for repairs. Power and landline phone companies are resisting wireless carriers' requests for preferred treatment. About 1,000 of the 7,000 cell sites along the Gulf Coast were knocked out by Katrina, and cellphones were virtually useless in New Orleans. Noting that wireless service has become a lifeline during disasters, CTIA-The Wireless Association told the Federal Communications Commission this month that most outages stemmed from cell towers that lost power or landline phone service. Phone-company wires carry cell calls once they reach the local tower. Electric and phone companies worked to restore wireless service as quickly as possible after the storm, says CTIA's Christopher Guttman-McCabe. But, he says, cellular networks could be revived more quickly if placed on a priority list that includes hospitals, public safety agencies and water plants.
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