Cellular suppliers in Florida hit again after hurricane

It’s been a double whammy for cellular suppliers in Florida this fall. Many cellular suppliers were just starting to recover from Hurricane Charley when Hurricane Frances struck. Ten counties located in the middle of the state, took direct hits from both storms.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, cellular suppliers had to scramble to get power to cell phone towers. In the areas hardest hit by Charley, 180 Cingular cell towers and 140 Sprint towers were disabled. Some said their towers had battery or generator power back ups, but some of those back ups were ineffective.

Immediately after the storm, at least 250,000 Sprint cellular customers were without service. Sprint is the leading cellular supplier in hard-hit Charlotte County. It took most of a week for the supplier to get cellular service restored to all customers.

Florida cell phone suppliers took extra steps to prepare for Frances. Cingular brought in 550 extra generators and COWs, Cellular on Wheels. COWs are mobile towers that suppliers can move to locations where service has been disrupted. Other suppliers also increased their network capacity before Florida’s second hurricane in just 24 days. Suppliers also furnished thousands of cell phones to emergency workers to aide disaster recovery efforts.

The disruptions could have been worse if cell phone suppliers had not taken emergency measures before the hurricanes hit. The suppliers worked together to bring extra generators and personnel to the state before the storms.

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Also See: free cellular phones.

Author Notes:

Wendy Whittaker contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com. A cellular phone industry resource featuring articles, comparisons and reviews of cellular phone and service plans.

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Cellular suppliers in Florida hit again after hurricane