Key BellSouth tips to remember during hurricanes;
Services that may be helpful during a hurricane;
Tips for identifying possible service problems during a hurricane
COLUMBIA, S.C., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Having recently withstood the
winds and rains of Tropical Storm Gaston and Hurricane Charley in Charleston,
BellSouth's network throughout South Carolina is ready to face the threat of
Hurricane Frances.
With its network design of fiber optics, underground cables and redundant
routing, back-up power generators on hand, and repair crews on standby;
BellSouth is ready to deliver the reliable service customers depend upon.
"Years of dealing with hurricanes and other severe weather have helped us
earn a reputation for reliability that is second to none," said Harry
Lightsey, president of BellSouth in South Carolina. "Even though the
telecommunications industry is dramatically changing and competition is
everywhere, the one constant is our employees' dedication to disaster
readiness and maintenance of the BellSouth network. Our customers have learned
that BellSouth's network is resilient and reliable. We are as ready as ever to
maintain the excellent service they've learned to count on."
The first major threat to telecommunications services during and after a
storm is an electrical power outage that could cut off service for
telecommunications switching offices and area distribution facilities. To
prevent such interruption of service, BellSouth provides immediate back-up
through batteries followed by electric power provided by diesel-powered
electric generators.
Additionally, trees toppling in rain-soaked soil may bring down aerial
telephone cables. Should this occur, BellSouth crews are on call to begin
repairs as soon as safety permits.
"BellSouth has a significant amount of underground, fiber optic cable that
is much less susceptible to damage from wind, rain and debris," Lightsey said.
"We also have many redundant or alternate network paths we use to deliver
voice, data and Internet communications. This greatly reduces the number of
customer outages we experience from a storm."
Key BellSouth tips to remember during hurricanes and other major storms:
- Use your phone for necessary calls only, leaving lines open for
emergency calls.
- As calling volumes increase, customers may experience a slow dial tone.
If you don't hear a dial tone immediately when you pick up your phone,
wait a few seconds and you should get one. If not, hang up and try your
call later.
- During a power outage, your phone line may be inoperable if your
cordless phone, caller ID unit or other telephone equipment requires
external power. Plug a non-electrical telephone directly into a phone
jack to verify if you have service.
- For customers and the news media, BellSouth has compiled a list of
emergency contact information on its website
at http://www.bellsouthcorp.com/emergency . This information can be
downloaded in advance for use as reference. During a hurricane or other
severe storm, BellSouth will update the site with status information on
the BellSouth network.
- The front section of The Real Yellow Pages provides many helpful hints,
telephone numbers to call for repair service, information for customers
with disabilities and more.
- If you have a question but cannot find the answer in The Real Yellow
Pages, call the number listed for residential or business services
depending on your need.
BellSouth services that may be helpful during a hurricane
- BellSouth's CrisisLink(SM) service for businesses can designate
alternate routing of voice, data and video communications in the event
normal business operations at the usual locations are interrupted. For
example, if a major storm causes authorities to evacuate a community
where a business is located, a pre-established CrisisLink plan would
allow the business to reroute calls to another location.
CrisisLink service can also give a business the capability to place
test calls during or after a crisis to check the status of the
business' regular service or location before returning it to normal
operations. And the service can provide a customer with reports on the
number of lines affected during a crisis, the number of calls rerouted
and downtime experienced.
- Remote Access to Call Forwarding allows customers to activate or
deactivate Call Forwarding from any telephone equipped with touch-tone.
- Call Forwarding Don't Answer automatically routes calls that are not
answered within a designated number of rings to another pre-selected
telephone number.
- Call Forwarding Busy Line service automatically routes calls to another
pre-selected telephone number when the line is busy. Instead of the
caller getting a busy signal, the call is routed to the secondary
number.
- Memory Call(SM) answering service provides for your calls to be
answered and allows the caller to leave a message when you are unable
to answer your telephone. You can retrieve the messages from any touch-
tone telephone.
BellSouth tips for identifying possible service problems
For customers who experience a service problem, the following questions
will help them isolate, and perhaps resolve immediately, the problem.
- Using a cordless phone? In the event of a commercial power outage,
cordless phones will not work. Use a traditional corded telephone.
- Dial tone on one of your phones but not all? Chances are the problem is
in the phone itself. Unplug it from the network.
- Noise or static on the line? Try disconnecting all of your telephones
and related equipment (answering machines, computers, FAX, caller-ID
devices, etc.) and waiting at least one minute. Then, reconnect your
telephones one at a time to see if the trouble still exists. Check for
dial tone as you plug in each one. If the problem stops, it is most
likely associated with a specific telephone or related equipment. If
static returns once you have reconnected a telephone device, the
problem is most likely associated with that item of equipment or the
cord attached to that equipment.
- Can't receive telephone calls even though you have dial tone? It is
possible that Call forwarding has been activated on your telephone. Try
dialing *73 (or 1173 from a rotary dial telephone) to disable this
feature.
- Can't make long distance telephone call? For trouble completing long
distance calls, please call 1-700-555-4141 from the line where the
trouble occurs or call your chosen long distance carrier for additional
support. If your chosen carrier is BellSouth Long Distance, call
1-888-REPAIR8.
Residence customers who need to report a problem with their BellSouth
service should call 611 from their home phone. If calling form a wireless
phone, anon-BellSouth telephone number, or from outside South Carolina,
residence customers should call 1-800-642-0544. Business customers should
call 1-866-620-6900 from their business or 1-800-252-0803, if calling from a
cellular phone.
About BellSouth Corporation
BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications company
headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and a parent company of Cingular Wireless,
the nation's second largest wireless voice and data provider.
Backed by award winning customer service, BellSouth offers the most
comprehensive and innovative package of voice and data services available in
the market. Through BellSouth Answers(SM), residential and small business
customers can bundle their local and long distance service with dial up and
high speed DSL Internet access, satellite television and Cingular(R) Wireless
service. For businesses, BellSouth provides secure, reliable local and long
distance voice and data networking solutions. BellSouth also offers online and
directory advertising through BellSouth(R) RealPages.com(SM) and The Real
Yellow Pages(R).
More information about BellSouth can be found
at http://www.bellsouth.com .
SOURCE BellSouth Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.bellsouth.com
http://www.bellsouthcorp.com/emergency
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/095650.html
CONTACT:
Marcia Purday, APR of BellSouth Corporation,
+1-803-401-2228
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