Improving worker access and training
One thing that mobile carriers cannot improve upon is the dedication and determination shown by their employees during their Katrina efforts. Despite the losses that they personally suffered, area workers first ensured that their families were safe and then reported for duty, spending long days repairing their networks to get them back online. Volunteers from other parts of the country poured in as well, eager to offer support.

Unfortunately, their efforts were sometimes hampered by authorities who refused to recognize their credentials as emergency responders. So carriers are now working with states to ensure that credentialing systems are in place before another disaster strikes. Carriers believe, however, that there needs to be some sort of nationwide system developed, something that (at least in theory) would get their responders past all levels of federal, state, and local security wherever and whenever the next disaster strikes.

To better prepare their employees for the next emergency response, some carriers have developed more specialized programs for them. Cingular is providing more incident command training and has partnered with BellSouth to build a specialized team with training that allows them to tackle jobs in hazardous materials environment. “They have the ability to go in and operate a facility that we could not otherwise get into,” Brown notes.

“One thing we’re doing as a direct result of Katrina is setting up teams by regions that can more quickly respond to and manage events,” says Fennell. Those local teams will be able to assess the situation immediately to help determine what additional resources will be required. In the future, to manage longer-term events such as Katrina, the company will appoint incident commanders who will serve as single points of contact for the various groups in the field. “We feel that we have a much more effective way of dealing with this now."

Meeting future crises
In light of Katrina, carriers are assessing their capabilities to respond to all types of emergencies. “There’s a proactive piece and there’s a reactive piece,” says Fennell. “On the one hand we’re assessing risks and reducing them down to something that we can handle; on the other hand, we’re building a reactive process that enables us to quickly get in and respond and fix whatever has been affected by the incident.

“Whether there’s an earthquake or a terrorist attack or a Katrina, we are trying to determine how we deter potential threats to our most critical locations and how we can make sure that we have an appropriate redundancy and response plan in place shouldsomething occur.”

“There is not a square inch in this countrythat is not susceptible to some kind of disaster,” says Lonn. “The reality is we have to beprepared. But it is an ongoing, iterativeprocess that will never be completely finished.But through a lot of practice, and throughhard lessons learned, we have more confidence now in our ability to continue to provide service."

An evacuee makes an emotional connection with family members, courtesy of Verizon Wireless.