Hanna, Gustav, now Ike

Disaster contingency plans are getting a heavy-duty work out this month, as service providers finish responding to Hurricane Gustav's fury and prepare for the landfall of Hurricane Ike.

Gustav's impact was much milder than Katrina's, though parts of Louisiana experienced cellular and Internet service interruptions due to power outages from the storm. 

To prepare for Ike, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon Wireless have deployed mobile cell towers and extra generators to deal with network damage. Key network and emergency response teams are being pre-positioned around the region to assess damage, help first responders and repair damaged cell sites.

Both Verizon Wireless and Sprint have made considerable investments to harden their respective networks in the Gulf Coast region.

For more:
- AP story on Hurricane Gustav and Ike telecommunications contingencies

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