Hurricane Florence

AT&T Deploys Flying COW

Sept. 25, 2018 1:55 p.m.

Beaming Connectivity from the Sky

Last week, we became the first company to provide commercial, drone-based connectivity in the continental U.S. for our customers and first responders after a major storm.  Our Flying COW (Cell on Wings) supported recovery efforts through the weekend in the Wilmington, North Carolina area.

The Flying COW operated at about 150 feet above the ground and provided wireless connectivity while our teams worked to repair and restore areas of our network damaged by the storm. The Flying COW can extend coverage farther than other temporary cell sites and is ideal for providing coverage in remote areas.

Following our first commercial Flying COW deployment last year in Puerto Rico, we continue to turn to innovative solutions to connect our customers affected by natural disasters. This year we deployed our newest model, with expanded capabilities such as extended flight time supporting 24-hour operations. This version is also easier to fly, easier to transport and is highly flexible, so it can quickly be reconfigured with different equipment, motors and propellers for specific uses. Both our helicopter drone and our newest model can operate during inclement weather, including rain.    

Drone deployments like this also give us real-world experience that can be applied to the FirstNet program. This will enable us to bring even more innovative technologies to first responders to help them stay safe and achieve their lifesaving missions.

In addition to our Flying COW, we recently deployed drones to assist in damage assessment and recovery in parts of North Carolina.

Today, our network is nearly fully restored in areas across the Southeast affected by Hurricane Florence. This is just one more way we are committed to keeping our customers connected when they need it most.

AT&T to Donate $200,000 to Aid North Carolina Communities Impacted by Hurricane Florence

Sept. 25, 2018 2:44 p.m.

AT&T* is contributing $200,000 to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund (NCDRF), answering the call from Gov. Roy Cooper to the business community to help meet the urgent needs of Hurricane Florence victims. “Communities hit hard by Hurricane Florence need our help now more than ever, and when it comes to recovery, we’re all in this together,” said Gov. Cooper. “Donating to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund can help provide people the support they need to rebuild their lives.”

“We understand that staying connected is never more important than during emergencies or disasters,” said Venessa Harrison, president AT&T North Carolina. “That’s why we are building and operating FirstNet, the first nationwide network designed exclusively for first responders. And it is why we are also committed to doing our part to help our friends, neighbors and communities recover from disasters like this storm.”

Including the contribution announced today, our corporate and foundation disaster-relief giving now totals more than $600,000 this year. We have provided support for the American Red Cross, the Hispanic Federation, Broward Education Foundation, Salvation Army-St. Thomas, Hawaii Community Foundation, the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama and the Lawrence (MA) Emergency Fund. In the last year, these organizations supported victims and communities affected by disasters as diverse as hurricanes, tornadoes, mass shootings, volcanic eruptions, and most recently, last week’s gas explosions in Massachusetts.

AT&T is also funding Team Rubicon as it builds out 20 Crisis Readiness Units in eight key U.S. cities including Raleigh, NC. These units will help develop thousands of trained and qualified military/veteran and civilian volunteers to assist in disaster relief efforts following tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters in impacted communities

*About AT&T Communications

We help family, friends and neighbors connect in meaningful ways every day. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to mobile video streaming, we innovate to improve lives. We have the nation’s largest and most reliable network and the nation’s best network for video streaming.** We’re building FirstNet just for first responders and creating next-generation mobile 5G. With DIRECTV and DIRECTV NOW, we deliver entertainment people love to talk about. Our smart, highly secure solutions serve over 3 million global businesses – nearly all of the Fortune 1000. And worldwide, our spirit of service drives employees to give back to their communities.

AT&T Communications is part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T). Learn more at att.com/CommunicationsNews.

AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc. Additional information about AT&T products and services is available at about.att.com. Follow our news on Twitter at @ATT, on Facebook at facebook.com/att and on YouTube at youtube.com/att.

© 2018 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

**Coverage not available everywhere. Based on overall coverage in U.S. licensed/roaming areas. Reliability based on voice and data performance from independent 3^rd party data.

Network Update

Sept. 21, 2018 10:38 p.m.

AT&T’s Network Recovery in Action

Overall our networks have performed well during Hurricane Florence. We continue to move quickly to keep our customers, FirstNet subscribers and public safety agencies connected as they work to keep our communities safe. Conditions continue to improve as our teams work to address storm damage, power outages, and the damage to our local service provider's network which affected service in some areas. Today, we are operating at more than 99% of normal in the Carolinas and are working to address the remaining parts of our network that have been affected by the storm.

Public Safety Spotlight: FirstNet Delivers for Agencies Responding to Hurricane Florence

Sept. 16, 4:16 p.m.

Hurricane Florence put FirstNet to the test. And the public safety network has been standing up to the challenge. We’ve been working across national, state and local agencies to keep emergency responders connected to the critical information they need to communicate and coordinate their storm response.

Here are a few highlights of how we’ve delivered for the agencies and individuals our communities are counting on most:

• Burned the midnight oil with Horry County FirstNet subscribers to add hotspots to their devices. 
• Supported the City of Whiteville’s emergency response efforts by deploying a SatCOLT (Satellite Cell on Light Truck) to the Whiteville Fire Department staging area. What’s unique about this deployment is it’s Band 14 only, so it boosts connectivity for first responders on FirstNet without interfering with the coverage and capacity they already have. We also have to thank the North Carolina State Highway Patrol for helping our team coordinate the quickest and safest route to make this deployment happen.
• Deployed a COW to bring FirstNet connectivity to a FEMA staging location to support their response and recovery efforts as they assist those affected by Hurricane Florence.
• Restored connectivity for the Midway Fire Department in Georgetown County within hours of learning about service disruptions.

Plus, FirstNet subscribers continue to receive unthrottled access to their network as they work to keep our communities safe.

Helping public safety achieve their mission is our priority. As the storm pushes on, we’ll continue to stand by the men and women who put their lives on the line, day in and day out, to protect and support our communities.

AT&T Providing Relief to Customers Affected by Hurricane Florence

Our thoughts are with everyone affected by Hurricane Florence.

We are automatically issuing credits and waiving additional charges from September 11 through September 25 to provide unlimited talk, text, and data access for AT&T wireless and AT&T PREPAID customers in the areas affected most by the hurricane.

This applies to AT&T wireless customers with billing addresses and AT&T PREPAID customers with phone numbers in over 500 zip codes at this time¹. To see if your zip code is covered click here.

Customers in these areas may still receive data alert notifications during these protected dates, but billing will reflect the credits and/or waived data charges.

Video & Home Internet Customers

Additionally, affected video and home internet customers can contact us at 1-800-288-2020, with questions about their service, questions about damaged equipment or to voluntarily pause their service to suspend charges. Legacy DIRECTV Customers can contact 1-800-531-5000 for questions about their service, questions about damaged equipment or to voluntarily pause their service to suspend charges.

Cricket Wireless Customers

For Cricket Wireless customers who can’t get to a store to pay their bill between September 14-17, 2018, Cricket is extending payment due dates through September 17, 2018.  Those in affected areas should receive a text message. For more information on Cricket’s Hurricane Florence updates, click here.

1 Location based on billing address for AT&T wireless customers and billing phone number for AT&T PREPAID customers. Credits will post in 2-3 billing cycles for AT&T wireless customers and within 30 days for AT&T PREPAID customers. Applicable taxes may be estimates and may include administrative and government fees. Dates based on local time zones.

AT&T Launches Severe Weather Channels on DIRECTV and U-verse

Sept. 12, 2018 4:00 p.m.

Dedicated to Coverage of Hurricane Florence

Severe Weather Channels on DIRECTV and U-verse Available Tomorrow

AT&T is launching Severe Weather Channels on both DIRECTV (361-2) and U-verse (226 SD/1226 HD) dedicated to coverage of Hurricane Florence. As the storm approaches the east coast, the channels will offer coverage from various local affiliates in the affected areas as well as national news networks. The channels will be available starting Thursday, Sept. 13 at 3 P.M. EST.

Severe Weather Mosaic for DIRECTV Customers Available Today

Additionally, DIRECTV customers already have access to the Severe Weather Mix (361-1), a separate channel that features a mosaic of round-the-clock coverage from Weather Channel, Accuweather and various other news sources. Channels appearing on the mix screen are selectable via remote for full screen viewing.

AT&T Heroes

Come rain or shine, our people are our best asset. Learn more about some awesome AT&T heroes and how they are making a difference in the wake of Hurricane Florence.

Carl Smith: An app and a trash bag

Sergey Makogon and Larissa Husosky: Our turn to give back

Retail Closures

Sept. 20, 2018 2:44 p.m.

All AT&T Retail locations in areas affected by Hurricane Florence are now open. Please note, hours of operation may be impacted as storm activity and recovery efforts continue.

Network Update #3

Sept. 15, 2018 4 p.m.

AT&T Continues to Support Areas Affected by Hurricane Florence

As we evaluate the effects of Hurricane Florence, keeping our customers and first responders connected remains top of mind.

Overall, our network continues to perform well in affected areas. Storm damage and power loss may be affecting service for some customers in parts of North and South Carolina. As conditions allow, we are deploying additional personnel and equipment to repair and restore where needed.

Additionally, our Network Disaster Recovery and drone teams are standing by to assist in damage assessment and recovery. 

In the past few years, we have faced record storms and each year, our people jump into action. This storm is no different.

To provide additional support to the community, we are deploying retail trucks to the Raleigh area in North Carolina. These trucks will provide charging stations and Wi-Fi connectivity to affected residents at local shelters.

We also have a network of over 1,700 hotspots in the affected areas at major retail and restaurant locations. We’re working hard to ensure our customers and first responders have the connectivity they need.

Network Update #2

Sept 13, 2018 9:06 a.m.

AT&T Prepared with an Arsenal of Network Recovery Equipment

Our first priority is keeping our customers and first responders connected; especially during storms and natural disasters. With Hurricane Florence fast approaching, we are hard at work preparing and protecting our network.

Our Regional and Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) teams, in partnership with the AT&T FirstNet team, have begun staging network assets in the Carolinas for quick deployment following the storm’s initial impact. These assets include:

• 24 COWS (Cell on Wheels) and COLTs (Cell on Light Trucks)
• 2 Emergency Communications Vehicles (ECVs)
• 2 Charging Stations
• 1 Command Center

If necessary, we are prepared to deploy additional equipment and personnel from surrounding states to support any recovery efforts. These assets will provide additional coverage and capacity to affected residents and first responders if there is any impact to our network in the area.

FirstNet-dedicated deployables will also be available as needed to help public safety communicate and coordinate their response efforts. Bandwidth on these FirstNet-dedicated deployables, not being used by FirstNet subscribers, will provide additional connectivity to AT&T commercial users in the area.

But we’re not stopping there.

Last year, we deployed our Flying COW (Cell on Wings) for the first time in Puerto Rico to support those affected by Hurricane Maria. In anticipation of Hurricane Florence, we have our Flying COWs on standby, ready to provide coverage from the sky.

With an additional 50 drones, our fleet is prepared to assist with damage assessment and recovery if needed. These drones can inspect cell towers and facilities; making potential restoration quicker and more efficient.

Partnering with Public Safety

To quickly and fully address the needs of the state and first responders, we’re engaged with state and local Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) to help them get the connectivity they need.

We have liaisons trained in incident response staffing state EOCs – both in person and virtually – in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington D.C. And we’re standing at the ready with additional EOCs.

Starting today, our liaisons will begin staffing the state EOC’s 24/7. With this approach, we can coordinate and deploy FirstNet-dedicated network assets, as well as AT&T network recovery equipment as needed, in coordination with public safety.

Network Preparation/Updates

Sept 10, 2018 9:30 p.m.

AT&T’s Network Disaster Recovery Team Takes on Hurricane 

SOUTHEAST, September 10, 2018 - AT&T* is prepared for Hurricane Florence with an arsenal of disaster response equipment and personnel on standby.

We have started our storm preparedness process as we closely monitor Hurricane Florence as it heads towards the Southeast. Our preparation includes:

• Topping off fuel generators.
• Testing high-capacity back-up batteries at cell sites.
• Protecting physical facilities against flooding with sandbags.
• Staging other emergency response equipment in strategic locations for quick deployment following the storm.

“Customers rely on us, especially during major storms," said Scott Mair, president of Operations, AT&T Technology & Operations.  "We do all we can to have our networks prepared when severe weather strikes. Our people are experienced, constantly perfecting the process and are ready to respond at a moment’s notice.”

Our AT&T National Disaster Recovery (NDR) program is one of the industry’s largest and most advanced disaster response programs. The NDR fleet includes hundreds of technology recovery and support trailers nationwide that can be quickly deployed to support customers and first responders.

Response equipment readied in the wake of an event may include:

• Mobile cell sites and mobile command centers like Cell on Wheels (COWs) and Cell on Light Trucks (COLTs)
• Emergency communications vehicles (ECVs)
• Flying Cell on Wings (Flying COWs)
• Drones
• A self-sufficient base camp. This is complete with sleeping tents, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry facilities, on-site nurse and meals ready to eat (MREs).
• Hazmat equipment and supplies
• Technology and support trailers to provide infrastructure support and mobile heating ventilation and air conditioning
• Internal and external resources for initial assessment and recovery efforts