AT&T (NYSE: T) has completed the requirements to gain the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) certification for disaster preparedness in its South Carolina region.
This certification comes under DHS' Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Program (PS-Prep), which is administered by the agency's Federal Emergency Management Agency. Through this program, service providers like AT&T can enhance their tools for planning, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters and other threats.
Since 2008, the service provider has invested over $950 million to improve the wireline and wireless networks it operates in South Carolina.
To maintain continuity of operations for communities in South Carolina and other serving regions, the service provider maintains not only a Global Network Operations Center, but also has a fleet of over 320 self-contained equipment trailers and support vehicles that house the same type of equipment and components found in one of its traditional data-routing or voice-switching centers.
In March this year, the service provider became the first service provider to be certified under DHS' PS-Prep program.
Having created a Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) program over 20 years ago, AT&T has plenty of experience in disaster preparedness and disaster recovery. The telco's NDR team was activated during various disasters including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf Coast oil spill and the Joplin, Mo. tornado.
For more:
- see the release
Related articles:
Week in research: Data center security providers prepare for battle; small businesses lack disaster prep
AT&T obtains DHS disaster-prep certification
AT&T holds disaster recovery drill
Dick Price, Verizon's wireline Chief Business Continuance Officer, on disaster recovery/business continuity