The Verizon logo will appear on storefronts in Boston on Friday, September 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) – Verizon is peeling back the curtain on the technology it uses to keep its cell phone service up and running during emergencies.
The telecommunications company's building in Aurora houses all the technology needed to keep the network up and running. There's an operations room that monitors networks and building systems 24 hours a day, a network room that acts like a digital switchboard, coolers to keep equipment from overheating, and a battery facility that can keep everything running for several hours in the event of a power outage. Multiple generators (each the same size as a cargo engine) to keep the equipment powered at all times.
“Not being able to contact loved ones, friends and family can start to make people do things they probably wouldn't do in that situation,” said Jared Hilzendeger, senior crisis response manager for Verizon's Frontline team. .
Frontline teams are responsible for restoring or providing cell signal after a disaster. Their equipment ranges from small routers the size of briefcases to mobile units that run on generators.
“We also have tethered drones in our arsenal, where a tether that provides power and network connectivity is attached to the drone, and an LTE signal is broadcast from there, so it can essentially stay online forever. ,” Hilzendegger said.
Drones were recently used to provide cellular signals after the Maui wildfires.
“It's usually a good thing that you don't have to deploy these,” said Blair Miller, Verizon's senior director of mountain network assurance.
Colorado is not immune to disasters, not just natural disasters.
“We have a lot of wildfires, especially here in Colorado. Wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes. We've assisted with a lot of cyberattacks,” Hilzendeger said.
In 2021, his team deployed equipment to Glenwood Canyon after a landslide destroyed part of Interstate 70. Hilzendegger said that portion of the highway was not part of Verizon's service area. Without a signal, ground crews and emergency personnel would have to drive several miles from the canyon to make calls or send text messages, he said.
“Many of us are former first responders and have backgrounds that we care about, and I think that's the most important thing. When a problem arises, we don't sit and wait. “We are actively working to get out there and restore connectivity and get first responders what they need as quickly as possible,” he said.
Later that year, the Marshall Fire destroyed one of its towers, requiring Verizon to deploy equipment called COLT (cell mounted on a light truck).
“That COLT was actually used after the Marshall Fire, where our cell phone site burned down. We were able to get it briefly featured on satellite TV. And we actually used that truck to put a cell site there for two years while the other truck was being built,” Miller said.
Their mobile resources can be deployed anywhere in Colorado within about an hour. Once on-site, it takes just 30 minutes for cell phone service to be established.
When a large number of people gather, it puts stress on mobile phone signal service.
They focus on disaster response, but disaster preparedness is another part of it.
“We also use them for special events where there is no existing coverage map. Think about the Nuggets parade or the Avalanche parade…our existing network was built with that influx in mind. There are a lot of different events that aren't happening,” Miller said.
He says their job is not to provide luxuries, but to provide people with critical resources in times of emergency.
“You're not streaming Netflix movies. You're not streaming Disney Plus. But you can communicate, and you can actually get that important communication,” Miller said.
“As we restore that network, you start to see people's faces change because even after a few days without heat or electricity, people are still looking for some semblance of normalcy. . We are starting to see people's lives returning to normal,” Hilzendegger said.
