FCC says 6,500 cell sites down in four states in wake of Irene

Hurricane Irene knocked out 6,500 cellular communications sites in four states from Virginia to Vermont, where 44 percent of the sites remained down Monday afternoon, the Federal Communications Commission reported.

Neil Grace, an FCC spokesman, said 35 percent of the cell sites in Connecticut, 31 percent in Rhode Island and 25 percent in Virginia were down in the wake of the storm. Wired phone lines serving 210,700 clients were out, along with cable TV service for 1 million subscribers, Grace added.

Each of these vehicles, Short said, packs its own satellite communication system that can access unclassified and secret Defense Department networks, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephones, and radio systems to communicate with state and local public safety agencies.

The coordination teams as well are equipped with satellite "fly-away kits" packed in cases that include videoconferencing systems, iridium satellite phones and secure cellular phones, he said.

In addition, FCC has deployed four vans equipped with spectrum analyzers on the East Coast to check on the status of wireless systems previously and afterwards the hurricane. These vans, fielded by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau in accordance with an initiative dubbed Project Roll Call, provide first responders and carrier repair teams with information about which wireless communications are up or down in their area, Grace said.