US telecoms executives began outlining the damage done to the
communications infrastructure by the terrorist attack on New York
on 11 September, and the steps they have taken to keep services
going.
"This was one of the most telecom-intensive areas of the world,"
Larry Babbio, president of New York-based Verizon, told
reporters.
Two Verizon offices situated near the World Trade Centre (WTC) took
heavy blows - as WTC's "Building 7" toppled, beams speared a
Verizon nerve centre that served some 200,000 lines, said
Babbio.
Much of the Verizon equipment at the company's lower Manhattan
address on West St, the centre nearest to the WTC, is housed in a
basement and badly damaged with water and soot.
"If you cover your computer with dirt and pour water on it, it is
not going to operate for very long," said Babbio.
"The work we have to do to that office is enormous," he continued.
"That office, along with our facility on Broad St, delivers primary
service to the New York Stock Exchange."
Babbio estimated that 80% of New York Stock Exchange telecom
services are serviced by the Broad St facility, although 20% of the
private line services came through the crippled West St
facility.
Verizon reported that the cellular call volume was 50 to 100% above
normal and had put in seven replacement sites. One Verizon cellular
site at WTC was destroyed.
Almost all 500 Verizon employees working in WTC had been accounted
for, though some had almost certainly perished, the emotional
Verizon chief said.
AT&T Wireless reported losing access to some network sites near
the WTC on Tuesday. AT&T, AT&T Wireless and Sprint said an
inundation of calls was taxing their networks, but calls are still
getting through.
AT&T Wireless gave 1,300 mobile phones to local law enforcement
and rescue organisations to assist with immediate communication
needs.
The loss of some network equipment that was housed at the WTC has
forced Sprint to reroute some calls to other facilities.
"We had some network equipment in one of the twin towers and
obviously, it was destroyed," said a spokesman.
AT&T said in a statement it had suffered no damage to
long-distance networks as a result of the terrorist attacks, but
said disruptions to service were the result of high call volumes.
The company requested that unnecessary calls should not be placed
to New York or Washington.
AT&T Wireless reported one of its heaviest call volume days
ever, but the network is functioning overall. The company had a
handful of sites down that were in or near the Trade Centre.
The company requested that customers avoid making non-essential
calls into and out of critical areas on the East Coast so that more
circuits are available for emergency use.
"We're asking customers and employees to try to refrain from using
their wireless phones unless it's urgent," said AT&T
Wireless.
To further improve coverage in the city, AT&T Wireless is
rerouting traffic and redirecting some of its antennas.
It has deployed "COWS," or Cells On Wheels (mobile cellular
towers), in Jersey City and Brooklyn to help improve call capacity.