In a Massive Storm, How Do You Keep Life-Saving Services Like 911 Online?

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Feb 04, 2011, 08:22 ET

FRESNO, Calif., Feb. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the massive winter storm wreaking havoc in the northeastern and central United States, DPS Telecom announced today a global campaign to protect vulnerable telecommunications networks from extreme weather. By collecting and publishing industry knowledge from around the world, the campaign aims to minimize deadly interruptions in commercial power, transit, telecommunications, and emergency services like 911.

"This massive winter storm has caused serious problems in several key industries," said Eric Storm, President of DPS Telecom. "Wired and wireless phone networks are being inundated with calls, and many portions of those phone networks have lost commercial electricity. Hundreds of thousands of people are without power. Outages and failures like this are inevitable if the companies managing our infrastructure don't have good visibility of their own networks."

Since DPS Telecom manufactures remote monitoring equipment for telecom networks, Mr. Storm understands the important role that remote monitoring can play in protecting our modern communications infrastructure. That knowledge inspired the campaign announced today.

"Watching this storm unfold has reminded me of the precautions many telecom, utility, and transit companies have taken by deploying monitoring tools," Mr. Storm said. "Still, I know that many other well-intentioned companies are using outdated network monitoring techniques - or none at all. This can literally endanger lives by causing electricity, 911, and public safety communications to fail when we need them most. Imagine being cut off from your local 911 dispatch center or without electricity during a major storm."

According to Storm, poor disaster preparedness at some companies is mostly due to unequal knowledge among telecom professionals.

"Just about everyone in the industries we serve wants to do a great job. If they fully understand how to monitor their network properly to enhance public safety, they'll do it every time," Storm said. "To that end, we've published hundreds of free articles on http://www.dpstele.com as a resource for the industry. But in response to the massive storm we're experiencing in the US, we're now actively seeking new best practices from key industry players."

Starting today, DPS Telecom is now asking for email submissions from telecom professionals anywhere on Earth. The information received will be collected, organized, and published for free on http://www.dpstele.com .

"Do you have network-protecting techniques to share with us? Would you like a copy of our final report once it's compiled?" Storm asks. "Networks must stay up, 911 services must be available, commercial power has to stay online, and all types of transit need to keep moving. Storms quickly become lethal if our infrastructure isn't resilient. Remote monitoring and control of telecom networks, therefore, can really be a life-saving technology. Please share with me so that I can share with others."

To submit your network monitoring tips and advice (or to request a free copy of the compiled report when available), visit http://www.dpstele.com/storm2011 . You can also send email directly to [email protected] .