Sandy disrupts US Communication Network

The disaster created by Sandy will have a long lasting impact on the United States, ahead of its presidential elections. The record-setting giant storm has shaken the worlds largest economy and has disrupted telecommunications services in Northeastern states of the country.

In any disaster scenario whether earthquake,flood,thunder storm or even hurricanes communication plays a vital role as it helps in several rescue operations by giving clear picture of the effected area.

Sandy's record-setting storm surge resulted in flooding at several key wireless networking facilities in lower Manhattan, Queens and Long Island, interrupting commercial power and rendering backup power systems at these sites remains inoperable.

Besides giving massive destruction and displacement,Sandy damaged the network coverage in many areas resulting in spotty coverage for cellphones,home telephones, television,and Internet services.

The storm led almost all the service provides bleed resulting in massive flooding and the loss of commercial power.America's Verzon Communication networks which provides services in most of the storm effected states have not been able to access the sites, due to flooding and safety concerns.

Verizon national and regional command and control centers remain in operation, and the company is in close touch with power and other service providers, local government officials and others to ensure proper coordination of restoral efforts.

The wireless networking company is also working closely with public safety officials to ensure emergency communications remain operational.

According to Bob Mudge, president of Verizon's consumer and mass business division "We are asking the public to remain focused on staying safe as there may be dangerous conditions such as fallen trees or power lines.

He further added that, "Our dedicated employees from technicians to customer service consultants ran to a crisis and will continue to do what it takes to put customers back in touch.

The business is working closely with power companies throughout the affected regions, as well as health care providers, emergency service providers and governments at the local, state and federal levels, assisting in critical services restoration.

"Our network teams are working to restore areas where customers may be experiencing some service issues, the majority of the problems are 'out-of-service' sites resulting from multiple factors, including telecommunications provider service disruption, power outages and flooding in low-lying areas such as the tip of lower Manhattan", said Nicola Palmer, vice president-network and chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless.

Some of the areas will require physical rebuilding of the networking facilities, and others will require the return of commercial power. Although customers continue to experience sporadic network congestion due to the extremely high calling volumes.

ankushk@cybermedia.co.in