With Hurricane Earl Approaching, Verizon Wireless Offers Tips for Staying in Touch

LAUREL, MD — With Hurricane Earl approaching, Verizon Wireless suggests customers prepare or revisit their emergency communications plans, and is offering residents in locally affected areas tips to keep themselves and their families in touch as this year’s storm season heats up:

* Have additional charged wireless batteries and car-charger adapters available for back-up power
* Keep wireless phone batteries fully charged – in case local power is lost – well before warnings are issued
* Keep phones, batteries, chargers and other equipment in a dry, accessible location
* Maintain a list of emergency phone numbers – police, fire, and rescue agencies; power companies; insurance providers; family, friends and co-workers; etc. – and program them into your phone
* Distribute wireless phone numbers to family members and friends
* Forward your home phone calls to your wireless number if you evacuate
* For smartphone users, download in advance useful apps like “Flashlight.”

Once a severe storm begins to hit, the company also urges the following actions:

* Limit non-emergency calls to conserve battery power and free-up wireless networks for emergency agencies and operations.
* Send brief text messages rather than voice calls for the same reasons as above.
* Check weather and news reports with wireless phone applications like “WeatherBug” to get the latest storm news on the go, and when power is out

“The key for Verizon Wireless is to provide our customers with reliable wireless service when and where they need it most,” said Mike Maiorana, regional president for Verizon Wireless. “Our network teams are watching Earl closely. We are prepared to make sure our wireless service remains strong and available for customers to stay connected.”

Verizon Wireless has invested more than $59 billion since it was formed in 2000 to increase the coverage and capacity of its premier nationwide network and to add new services. In the Washington, DC/Virginia/Maryland region alone, Verizon Wireless’ network investment since 2000 exceeds $2.3 billion, with a total of $274 million in 2009 alone. In addition, the company has continued the intensive, sustained investments and preparations that proved critical during and after past years’ extraordinary storm seasons.

To hear firsthand from customers who experienced the reliability of the Verizon Wireless network during the 2010 Nor’easter, view the "Nor'easter No Match for the Network" video on the Verizon WirelessTV YouTube Channel.

To stay on top of Hurricane updates, visit: www.nhc.noaa.gov. For information about landline communications during emergencies, visit the Verizon News Center.