FirstNet mobile cell site (SatCOLT or Satellite Cell on Light Truck) is up and running at Canyon View Drive in Paradise, CA Tweet: Leland Kim.
Even though yesterday was a federal holiday, some personnel at the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau were in contact with carriers and safety agencies in California as the wildfires continued to burn. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr tweeted that agency staff are “engaged and closely coordinating” efforts to maintain and restore communications in the affected areas.
AT&T said its Network Disaster Recovery team deployed four portable cell sites, or SatCOLTs (Cell on Light Trucks) to affected areas, including the Los Angeles Fire Command Camp and the Paradise Police Department. The SatCOLTs sites will provide connectivity for customers and first responders in areas where traditional cell sites have been damaged or affected by power outages. The carrier has additional assets staged throughout the state for quick deployment once conditions allow. It opened up its network to other carriers’ customers.
T-Mobile is monitoring the destructive Camp, Woolsey, and Hill wildfires in Northern and Southern California. The carrier is tracking the situation, including any impacts on its network, and “evaluating the ways we can best assist our customers and employees.”
Verizon said it’s made “significant progress” in our network restoration efforts, and is continuing to make repairs as conditions allow. Network impact is due to power outages and third-party transport issues caused by the fires. Verizon has deployed Cell On Wheels (COWs) where safe to do so.
Regarding the Camp Fire in Butte County, Verizon says it’s deployed temporary solutions, such as microwave backhaul, to make up much of the lost coverage in parts of Chico, Oroville and Paradise. Verizon is now focused on improving network performance around Paradise and Magalia.
Backhaul transport remains the primary issue impacting Verizon’s network performance in parts of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. Verizon placed mobile communications trailers at Fire Station 71 and Fire Station 99 in Malibu to provide coverage and add capacity in the area. It’s bringing a portable generator to its cell site on Rattlesnake Mountain, which supports microcells in Western Malibu. A Cell On Light Truck (COLT) will be placed in Oak Park to make up for lost coverage there, and Verizon is working to restore service in South San Jose Hills with a microwave solution.
Sprint is temporarily waiving call, text and data overage fees for customers in the affected areas. Comments? Email us.
November 13, 2018
