Wednesday, May 31st 2000
Hurricane Supplement

Cable & Wireless in the event

Cable & Wireless answers questions about communications services in the event of a hurricane.

Q. What advice does Cable & Wireless have for customers when a hurricane is approaching or we have bad weather?

A. Take hurricanes seriously. They are major risks to life and property and should not be taken lightly. In this regard, the National Hurricane Committee does a good job informing the public and their advice should be heeded.

Q. What has Cable & Wireless done to prepare for the hurricane season?

A. We have a computerised Disaster Preparedness and Restoration system that will help us to manage a storm strike. The system provides specific tasks for individuals and/or teams to carry out at each phase of the event, including pre-hurricane season tasks. We have just completed updating the system and will be running a comprehensive drill early in June to test our plans and the responsiveness of our teams. Part of our season preparedness is to test all standby generators and maintain full fuel tanks for the duration of the season.

Q. Is there anything people can do to their communication devices to prepare for the season?

A. To minimise the damage and loss of communication service: Clear tree branches on property from around telephone wires - be careful not to put any strain on the wires.Ê Get batteries for cordless and mobile phones. If telecommunications or any electronic equipment is on the floor, raise it off the floor to minimise the chance or water damage.

Q. What if the phone lines go down?

A. Wait until the all-clear and then report the outage to Cable & Wireless at 611. Under no circumstances should non-Cable & Wireless employees touch any downed telephone lines. Call us and we will deal with them.Ê Once you have called us about an outage, please limit the number of calls to check on progress.ÊYour report will be dealt with and we will be reporting periodically over the radio as to progress on repairs in all areas. We have personnel pre-assigned to survey and work in specific areas after the storm has passed in an effort to minimise outage times.

Q. Will communications be voluntarily cut off by Cable & Wireless at any time and why?

A. Yes - when wind speeds reach 60 mph Cable & Wireless will cut off international services by satellite as we will have to show the satellite earth station (the dish) to minimise the chances of damage.In the stow position the dish is rated to withstand wind speeds up to 180 mph. Limited International service will still be available via our undersea cable system to Jamaica.

For further information call Andrea Fa'amoe at 914-0553.

Submitted by Cable & Wireless.

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