Tips Before Severe Weather Strikes

HTC realizes the importance of telecommunications services in emergency situations and severe weather. Here are some simple tips that can maximize your safety:

Keep the lines open - HTC strongly encourages subscribers to limit phone use during periods of severe weather. Keep non-emergency calls to a minimum and limit your calls to the most important ones. Too many callers can jam telephone lines and overwhelm tower capacities. Also, refrain from calling 911 unless it is an actual emergency. Stay tuned to local radio and TV broadcasts for weather updates.

Do not rely on cordless home phones - Cordless home phones rely on your home's electricity. During power outages, cordless phones are inoperable. Consider a traditional wall mounted phone since they are line-powered by the HTC network. Traditional phones may work when cordless phones do not.

Program emergency numbers -Emergency contact numbers should be entered into your home and mobile phones, including the police department, fire station and hospital, as well as family members. And, don't forget to program in 911 so you don't have to think about it during and after an emergency.

Power outages can be a problem - Traditional telephone service is not affected by power outages, but VOIP relies on a modem plugged into the electrical grid. No electricity, no phone. Purchase battery backups for VOIP equipment so that when the power goes out, they'll provide temporary power. Consider maintaining one traditional telephone line so power outages won't disrupt your ability to receive calls.

Dial 611 for Repair Service - If your service is disrupted, dial 611 toll free from any HTC exchange or 365-2186 to request repair service. Keep in mind that the loss of electrical power can sometimes result in the interruption of telephone and cable television service. HTC utilizes generators as an alternative power source to maintain service as long as possible. As soon as the primary power supply is returned to our equipment, your service will once again be fully active.

Have a family communications plan in place - Designate someone out of the area as a central contact, and make certain all family members know who to contact if they become separated. Consider additional mobile phones for your family's use. If you want to add additional mobile phones to your wireless service, remember to do so before an emergency.

Keep wireless batteries charged - Have an alternate plan to recharge your battery in case of power outages (i.e. charging via your car charger, extra cell phone batteries, use of disposable cell phone battery to give you an hour of talk time without needing to be charged).

Try text messaging - Most wireless phones are now text-messaging capable, and many times during an emergency such as a tropical storm or hurricane, text messaging will go through quicker than voice calls. And more importantly, text messaging helps free up the phone lines for emergency officials.

Use call forwarding in evacuation - Since call forwarding is based out of the telephone central office, you can forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an evacuation. You will get incoming calls from your landline phone, even if your local telephone service is disrupted at your home.

Lightning can be dangerous - Limit your phone use to emergency calls only during inclement weather. Lightning can travel through phone lines resulting in severe injuries to anyone on that line.