now happening at c spire

   Mobile Call Processing Centers Designed To Withstand Category 5 Hurricane; 
Handle Millions of Calls, Texts, Wireless High-Speed Mobile Broadband Data Traffic

Ridgeland, Miss., (May 25, 2011) – C Spire Wireless, the largest privately-held wireless communications provider in the U.S., enters the 2011 hurricane season with two multi-million dollar, hurricane-ready “super switches” providing added protection and service for customers in south Mississippi, along the Gulf Coast and in south Alabama and the Florida panhandle.

The high-technology mobile phone switching facilities, which are designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 200 miles an hour, connect millons of voice calls, wireless data transmissions and other critical customer services daily for C Spire consumer and business customers.  In addition to hardened and reinforced shells, the all-steel structures house a large-scale 500 kilowatt diesel power generator, a grid of back up batteries and other redundant back-up systems, operations and technologies.

“These super switch facilities will help ensure that essential voice and data communications continue for our customers even when we experience severe weather and other life-threatening situations,” said Tony Kent, chief technology officer for C Spire.  The latest forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts an “above average” Atlantic Ocean hurricane season with as many as a 18 named storms and up to six hurricanes expected to form between June 1 and Nov. 1. 

Both the 4,800 square foot, $2.1 million center in Mobile and the 2,600 square foot, $6 million facility in Hattiesburg feature large switching bays, reinforced interior walls, concrete block and reinforced steel structures for added strength, high impact windows and a double steel reinforced roof grid that protects against debris strikes from roof tile, road signs and tree limbs that might be airborne during a hurricane or severe storm.

Each facility is designed to operate even after the loss of commercial power.  “Our battery bays work in concert with commercial power to keep the facility up and running in the event of a hurricane or other severe weather.  If we lose commercial power, this set of batteries will power the switch until we can activate our diesel-powered generators,” Kent said.

“We recognize the importance of a strong network and high levels of redundancy to provide increased wireless voice and data security, especially during hurricane season and other severe weather events,” Kent said. 

"Our customers depend on their mobile phones and a reliable network to communicate with family members, friends and employers during and after a severe weather event,” he added. “We are determined to live up to the trust our customers have placed in us and continue to be the network they can count on in any situation."

The company intends to continue to aggressively invest in its wireless network to increase coverage and capacity, Kent said.  “In addition to our best-in-class nationwide voice and data offerings and leading line up of Android and BlackBerry smartphones, tablets and connected devices, C Spire continues to find new and innovative ways to make customers’ wireless experience the best it can be,” he added.

For more information on C Spire’s network, visit www.cspire.com/networks.

About C Spire Wireless
C Spire Wireless is a diversified mobile communications company passionately committed to helping customers get the most out of their wireless devices and services.  The nation’s largest privately owned wireless communications provider accomplishes this goal by optimizing customers’ app experience through Discover Apps, providing the most reliable and advanced high-speed nationwide wireless voice and data network, offering industry-leading family and unlimited flat rate voice, text and mobile web plans, and through its online and in-store Discover Centers, which give customers easy, simple and convenient tools, tips, advice and information on how to get the most out of their mobile phone.  For more information about C Spire and its products and services, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.