The mobile assets are being used to support first responders, emergency operations centers, staging areas, and other critical operations. Helping first responders with their recovery operations in the region is the Verizon Frontline Crisis Response Team. According to the carrier, the team has “provided 76 solutions to 16 public safety agencies conducting operations across central and western Florida.” Debris powered by the storm turned into missiles that cut fiber and replacing this fiber is an important job that is near the top of Verizon‘s “to-do list.”
If you live in an area that was impacted by Hurricane Milton, Verizon asks that you refrain from touching or cutting any cable that was moved by the storm. Calling 811 before starting to clean up and remove debris will reduce the chance of underground and aerial fiber getting damaged. The carrier notes that preventing fiber from getting damaged will help keep customers and first responders connected during critical times.
Having gone through a week without cellular service myself following a hurricane, I can tell you from that experience that without having your wireless service operating, you feel isolated and cut off from the rest of the country. Verizon customers in the impacted areas are surely happy to see that the nation’s largest wireless carrier is working 24/7 not just to get service restored, but to get service restored to the performance level that Verizon customers expect and normally experience.