- Test - lists.nanog.org

Re: Phone networks struggle in Hurricane Katrina's wake
by Fergie (Paul Ferguson) 03 Sep '05

03 Sep '05

Me? I personally never trade my POTS for VoIP... - ferg -- Iljitsch van Beijnum <iljitsch(a)muada.com> wrote: On 30-aug-2005, at 22:08, Fergie (Paul Ferguson) wrote: > "In this age of cheap commoditized consumer electronics and > advanced mobile technology, why can't all the people of a city make > contact during an emergency? Simple: it's too expensive. Keep this in mind when trading in your POTS service for VoIP service over the internet. Discounting the local loop which is often the same in both cases, POTS is extremely reliable while VoIP over the public internet, well, isn't. But apparently people that switch to VoIP don't mind the reduced likelihood of being able to make calls during the next large scale emergency.

16 23

RE: Tidbit from DirectNIC
by Irwin Lazar 03 Sep '05

03 Sep '05

Per http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1475927/posts the firefighters are taking sniper fire and have barracaded themselves inside the building. -----Original Message----- From: owner-nanog(a)merit.edu [mailto:owner-nanog@merit.edu]On Behalf Of Michael Greb Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 5:16 PM To: nanog(a)merit.edu Subject: Re: Tidbit from DirectNIC On Fri, Sep 02, 2005 at 11:54:10AM -0400, Steven Champeon wrote: > on Fri, Sep 02, 2005 at 04:44:49PM +0100, Michael.Dillon(a)btradianz.com wrote: > > -----snip----- > > Fox News is reporting that there is an operation underway to refill > > chillers at the Bell South building down the street to keep phone service > > available to much of the southeast United States. That is apparently where > > all the firetrucks are going to in the area, in case you were wondering. > > -----snip----- > > > > It is interesting to note that it is possible to bring in diesel and water > > to resupply BellSouth yet it is impossible to bring in water and food for > > the residents, not to mention a fleet of small boats that could have > > prevented thousands from dying trapped inside their attics. > > 1) potable water is probably somewhat different from the water used in > chillers or fire trucks > > 2) phone service is, IMHO, one helpful pre-requisite to providing > emergency care and disaster relief Last year after Ivan phone service played no roll in emergency care or disaster relief. Ham Radio operators, myself included, were stationed at each shelter, the Red Cross and Salvation Army command centers, the county EOC, hospitals, and some assigned to shadow important people such as the mayor whereever they went. Every agency participating had a presence at the county EOC. When an ambulance was needed at a shelter, it was called for via ham radio, an operator at the EOC passed the message to the ambulance dispatcher in the same room, they called the ambulance out. Those in their home and not in a shelter had no way to call for help but the city and county themselves did not rely on phone service for anything. This is why the federal government gives so much valuable radio spectrum to Ham Radio, more then any other service, the principal purpose of Ham Radio is to provide emergency communications in times of need. > 3) the pictures I've been seeing have been full of boats, many of them > thrown up on land a few hundred feet from their berths > > Not saying that the utter failure of DHS as an organization isn't on > evidence here. Just saying that it's one thing to feed and water a plant > and quite another to feed and water a human being, let alone tens of > thousands of them. Michael Greb

1 0

BellSouth Updates Impact of Hurricane Katrina
by Fergie (Paul Ferguson) 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

For what it's worth. [snip] ATLANTA, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) announced the following update on the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on its operations: Louisiana: - BellSouth currently has about 1.03 million lines impacted in Louisiana, representing 54.2% of the state's more than 1.9 million access lines. Coastal Alabama/Mississippi - BellSouth currently has about 438,000 lines impacted in Mississippi, representing 39.8% of Mississippi's more than 1.1 million access lines. - BellSouth currently has about 93,000 lines impacted in Alabama, representing 5.5% of the state's more than 1.7 million access lines. "Our restoration efforts are ongoing and we have made good progress," said Bill Smith, BellSouth Chief Technology Officer. "While our forces are actively restoring service in many parts of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, we continue to experience difficulty accessing many areas most impacted by the storm. For example, access is difficult in flooded areas in New Orleans as well as coastal areas due to downed trees and bridge and road damage. We estimate that there are 750,000 customer lines in these most heavily-damaged areas. Also, strike teams are actively repairing facilities that will aid in the restoration of wireless services that are key to rescue efforts in the New Orleans area," he noted. BellSouth is still assessing the full impact on the network and its customers' operations, and as a result, it is too early to project the total magnitude of destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. BellSouth is currently surveying those areas where it has access and has begun restoration work. The number of lines affected will continue to fluctuate until the area stabilizes and all surveys have completed. BellSouth has about 13,000 employees in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama -- and approximately 7,600 of these are in the hardest hit areas affected by the storm. To aid its employees, BellSouth has set up BellSouth "tent cities" in Baton Rouge, La. and Gulfport, Miss. These cities will provide BellSouth employees and their families with necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, and employee assistance programs. This information is accurate only as of the date and time indicated below and is likely to change as power is restored, flood waters recede and other developments occur. Although we will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide updated information on a regular basis, this information will not be updated in real-time. [snip] http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/09-0… - ferg -- "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson Engineering Architecture for the Internet fergdawg(a)netzero.net or fergdawg(a)sbcglobal.net ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/

1 0

FAMILY LINKING AVAILABLE VIA WWW.REDCROSS.ORG
by Fergie (Paul Ferguson) 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

Via The American Red Cross. [snip] The American Red Cross, with support of the worldwide Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, is launching a Web site to help assist family members who are seeking news about loved ones living in the path of Hurricane Katrina. Visit the Family Links Registry via www.redcross.org to register yourself, a missing relative or view the existing list of registrants. Evacuees wishing to inform loved ones of their location can register their name by clicking on Family Links Registry on www.redcross.org. Concerned loved ones can register the names of their loved ones and view the list of those already posted. Due to the extent of the damage and the number of people displaced, concerned friends and family members are encouraged to visit the site daily to consult the list, as it will be updated continuously. A toll-free hotline is being established for those who do not have internet access. [snip] http://www.redcross.org/pressrelease/0,1077,0_314_4521,00.html - ferg -- "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson Engineering Architecture for the Internet fergdawg(a)netzero.net or fergdawg(a)sbcglobal.net ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/

1 0

OT: Public VM, spread the word if possible
by Scott Call 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

A public voicemail box has been set up at 1-866-217-6255. You can call in and check for messages based on a persons phone number (even if the # itself is dead right now) or leave a message based on your own. This service is being done (or at least announced) by Air America Radio, but don't let politics get in the way of a potentially useful service. I'm just passing it along, as I think it could be effective if someone in contact with relief workers could get the # posted in places where the surviors are gathered or gathering, that would be great. Thanks -Scott

1 0

Sprint LD routing affected by Katrina?
by Jon Lewis 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

I've encountered several toll free numbers (like the BellSouth DSG) which can no longer be dialed from Gainesville, FL roughly coinciding with Katrina slamming the Gulf Coast. I finally called BellSouth (the local ILEC) and asked what was up, as I can't get through from Gainesville, but I can if I use our VOIP network to route the calls out through other cities in FL (or if I use my Cingular cell phone). According to BellSouth repair, it's a Sprint call routing problem. I found it amusing and unlikely that BellSouth's DSG would use Sprint for their phone lines. Is anyone aware of Sprint having LD voice routing issues, probably a result of Katrina damage? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jon Lewis | I route Senior Network Engineer | therefore you are Atlantic Net | _________ http://www.lewis.org/~jlewis/pgp for PGP public key_________

3 4

How to volunteer tech/net services, etc for Katrina cleanup
by Joe Abley 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

In the interests of providing willing volunteers with a productive place to offer their services, I just read the following: http://www.boingboing.net/2005/09/02/fcc_coordinating_tec.html This is arguably off-topic for this list, for which I apologise. However, I thought it was worth sharing given the increasing number of people trying to use the NANOG list to volunteer to help. Text follows. > FCC COORDINATING TECH AID FOR KATRINA DISASTER > > Quick notes from conference call hosted by the FCC today about > urgently coordinating resources and personnel from internet/ > wireless service providers to get communications networks up and > running in in gulf states. > > Lack of communications systems has been identified as a critical > issue holding back aid, missing persons, law enforcement, etc. in > crisis areas. > > FCC personnel are working throughout the weekend to coordinate > these efforts with private industry, with wireless technology > groups, FEMA, and state governments in Mississippi, Louisiana, etc. > > One of the challenges they face in this effort is fact that the > coordination effort involves multiple layers of bureaucracies -- > also, that there has been no central point for directing available > assets offered by private industry. Participants on the call > included folks from Cisco, Intel, and wireless organizations. > > Another challenge: working with FEMA and local governments to > ascertain whether it is more immediately effective to get old > systems up and running, or create new temporary ones. Depends on > tech behind communications system in question. > COMPANIES WITH TECH ASSETS AND/OR HUMAN RESOURCES TO DONATE FOR > COMMUNICATIONS AID IN KATRINA-IMPACTED AREAS SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING > > FCC Chief of Staff Dan Gonzales (dan dot gonzales at fcc dot org) says > > FCC needs the following information from would be tech donors BY > NOON EASTERN ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3. > > 1) identify the provider (name of your company or group) > 2) identify assets you are willing to commit > 3) state clearly what assets you are technologically capable of > providing (IP? data? voice?) > 4) what your logistical requirements are to bring that to the > affected area. > 5) can you bring generators? if so what size? capacity? power levels? > > SUBMIT THIS INFORMATION TO > > PART-15.ORG (they have an online submission form to collect this data) > or wireless(a)part-15.org > > contacts: Michael Anderson (wireless(a)part-15.org) 630-466-9090, and > Claudia Crowley (ccrowley at gmail dot com), 817-292-0230. > > Snip from part-15.org website: > > The FCC and FEMA is in a desperate need to reestablish > communications in the disaster area. More specifically, the > metropolitan area of New Orleans and it's surrounding areas. What > can Wireless access internet service providers do to help? We can > reestablish internal communications and provide connectivity to all > disaster relief efforts by installing point to point, point to > multipoint links, IP Web cams to assist the police and fire > departments who can not be everywhere in such a large area, VoIP > phones to provide voice communications to relief personnel in > remote areas and many other types of normal everyday communications > that most people take for granted. > > To accomplish these goals, we will need not only the License Exempt > Industry as a whole, but local communities, major companies, and > all others that can provide even the slightest of assistance to our > teams. > > * FCC reps on the conference call also said they may relax some > regulations (power restrictions, etc) but are concerned that the > effort be coordinated centrally, carefully, so that various > emergency communications "efforts don't end up stepping on each > other" and causing more of a tech mess. > > * Quote from call participant Jim Duncan, Cisco Critical > Infrastructure Insurance group: "Operational issue number one is > fuel and energy. Convoy accident happened today with fuel truck > heading into one area... getting fuel and power in is critical, > nothing can happen in terms of communications without that. > Communications priorities will include law enforcement issues, but > also missing persons -- getting refugees access to webpages to > unite missing families... " > > * Some call participants also noted that any volunteers who end up > being assigned in the affected area should bring sleeping bags, > water, food so as not to strain resources. Hotel rooms, cars are > hard to come by. Tech experts who end up coming to the area (by way > of coordinated aid efforts) should be prepared to camp out.

1 0

FCC COORDINATING TECH AID FOR KATRINA DISASTER
by Fergie (Paul Ferguson) 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

http://www.boingboing.net/2005/09/02/fcc_coordinating_tec.html - ferg -- "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson Engineering Architecture for the Internet fergdawg(a)netzero.net or fergdawg(a)sbcglobal.net ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/

1 0

Red Cross working to restore communications at shelters
by Fergie (Paul Ferguson) 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

FCW.com: [snip] The American Red Cross is doing everything it can to restore communications with its 300 shelters in the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the agencys chief information officer said Friday. The agency is making progress but this disaster is on a scale weve never seen before, said Steve Cooper, the Red Crosss CIO and the former CIO at the Homeland Security Department. We have to plan that New Orleans as a city really wont exist for the next six months, Cooper said. Biloxi, Miss., is just as hard hit, he noted. The Red Cross created a task force on Sept. 1 with several of its private-sector partners, including Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Cingular, Cooper said. These companies flew in personnel to provide satellite connectivity to all Red Cross shelters in the disaster area, he said. [snip] http://www.fcw.com/article90642-09-02-05-Web - ferg -- "Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson Engineering Architecture for the Internet fergdawg(a)netzero.net or fergdawg(a)sbcglobal.net ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/

1 0

RE: Sprint LD routing affected by Katrina?
by Malayter, Christopher 02 Sep '05

02 Sep '05

Sprint LD is seriously affected in Northern Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi from what we have seen. Regards, Chris Malayter TDS Telecom - Network Services Data Network Engineering chris.malayter(a)tdstelecom.com Phone: (608) 664-4878 FAX: (608) 664-4644 -----Original Message----- From: Jon Lewis [mailto:jlewis@lewis.org] Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 1:44 PM To: nanog(a)nanog.org Subject: Sprint LD routing affected by Katrina? I've encountered several toll free numbers (like the BellSouth DSG) which can no longer be dialed from Gainesville, FL roughly coinciding with Katrina slamming the Gulf Coast. I finally called BellSouth (the local ILEC) and asked what was up, as I can't get through from Gainesville, but I can if I use our VOIP network to route the calls out through other cities in FL (or if I use my Cingular cell phone). According to BellSouth repair, it's a Sprint call routing problem. I found it amusing and unlikely that BellSouth's DSG would use Sprint for their phone lines. Is anyone aware of Sprint having LD voice routing issues, probably a result of Katrina damage? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jon Lewis | I route Senior Network Engineer | therefore you are Atlantic Net | _________ http://www.lewis.org/~jlewis/pgp for PGP public key_________

1 0