Verizon Network Ready As Gulf Coast Prepares For Tropical Storm Bill

HOUSTON, June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless network crews and disaster response teams are on alert as Tropical Storm Bill enters the Gulf of Mexico. In the event of severe storms, the Verizon Wireless network throughout the region stands ready to deliver reliable wireless coverage and service to customers.

Verizon Prepares by Investing

The company prepares year-round for severe weather with extensive investments and efforts to ready its network for emergencies and provide the most reliable wireless service for residents and businesses in the greater Houston area, including Galveston, Beaumont and the Golden Triangle. During last year, Verizon invested more than $173 million dollars in this region to strengthen and enhance its wireless network.

"Preparing the network for inclement weather is a year-round, deliberate process at Verizon and a key component in our network reliability," said Krista Bourne, president of the Houston/Gulf Coast region for Verizon Wireless. "Our relentless focus on reliability and severe weather preparedness ensures our network stays strong and calls go through when and where they are needed most. We are prepared for Tropical Storm Bill, alert and ready to respond."

These intensive investments and preparations proved critical during and after previous storm seasons. In the aftermath of even the most devastating hurricanes, like Hurricane Ike, the Verizon network in Houston remained strong while many other wireless communication networks struggled to serve emergency response officials and residents reaching out to insurance providers, family, friends and co-workers.

Standing Ready to Deliver Strong, Fast and Reliable Coverage

Other ongoing efforts to ensure a reliable network during the storm season and year-round include:

• A comprehensive emergency response plan, including preparing emergency command centers across Texas in the case of a storm or other crisis.
• Network technicians travel hundreds of thousands of miles across Texas in high-tech vehicles to measure the quality of Verizon Wireless voice and data service calls all across the state.
• The company has a fleet of dozens of Cells on Wheels (COWS), Cells on Light Trucks (COLTS), and generators on trailers (GOaTS) that will be deployed to hard-hit locations or areas that need extra network capacity.
• Pre-arranging fuel delivery to mobile units and generators to keep the network operating at full strength, even if power is lost for an extended period of time.
• Erecting new digital cell sites that have their own on-site generators to extend capacity in the event of a commercial power outage.

These technologies, facilities and other network-strengthening efforts are part of Verizon's national investment to increase the coverage and capacity of the company's premiere nationwide network, and to add new services.

For more information, visit the Verizon Wireless Emergency Information Center at http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/Emergency/Overview.html.

For Verizon Wireless Updates on Twitter
Stay in the know about Verizon Wireless news in Houston, Beaumont, Bryan College Station and Lufkin by following @GretchenLeJeune on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GretchenLeJeune. For the latest on products, corporate initiatives and perspectives, follow @VZWNews at http://twitter.com/VZWnews.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's largest and most reliable 4G LTE network.  As the largest wireless company in the U.S., Verizon Wireless serves 108.2 million retail customers, including 102.1 million retail postpaid customers.  Verizon Wireless is wholly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ).  For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com.  For the latest news and updates about Verizon Wireless, visit our News Center at http://www.verizonwireless.com/news or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VZWNews. 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Gretchen Whitaker
713.219.8028
Gretchen.Whitaker@VerizonWireless.com

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SOURCE Verizon Wireless