AT&T Stages Network Disaster Recovery Exercise In Bay Area
19 July 2004
SAN FRANCISCO -- As wildfires once again pose a serious threat to residents and businesses across the Golden State this summer, and the possibility of damaging earthquakes remains ever-present, AT&T announced a five-day network disaster recovery (NDR) exercise that begins today at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Foster City.
The exercise is designed to test and evaluate how well the company can respond to a simulated disaster that "destroys" a Bay Area data-routing or voice-switching center.
The NDR exercise, conducted several times each year, is part of AT&T's comprehensive business continuity plan to ensure communications can be restored quickly to its government, business and consumer clients if a disaster damages or destroys parts of its network. The company's network disaster recovery program is the industry's only mobile, full-readiness network disaster recovery team, allowing AT&T to monitor, manage and proactively protect customers' networks worldwide.
Complex centers, like the one that will be restored during the exercise, are the heart of telecommunications networks, routing data and voice communications to customers. Experience gained from the exercise is used to refine AT&T's disaster response systems and to strengthen business continuity services for its customers.
Industry studies over the past decade estimate that up to 80-90 percent of businesses without well-conceived disaster recovery plans go out of business within two to five years after a major disaster. Yet according to a new study by Opinion Research Corp., which looked specifically at Bay Area businesses, 33 percent of companies surveyed do not have a disaster recovery plan in place. In addition, 16 percent have been impacted by a disaster that resulted in their having to cease operations for a period of time. More information on the survey and findings can be found at AT&T's NDR website at http://www.att.com/presskit/ndr/.
During the past 10 years, AT&T has invested more than $300 million in its NDR program, which includes a team of more than 100 managers, engineers and technicians, as well as a fleet of more than 150 self-contained equipment-trailers and support vehicles that house the same equipment and components as an AT&T data-routing or voice-switching center. The exercises demonstrate the company's network disaster recovery processes, from the initial call-out of team members to equipment transport and service turn-up and testing.
"The scope and scale of AT&T's NDR drill is unique in the industry," said Becky Doi, AT&T sales vice president, Western Region. "But the investment we're making helps ensure our people and our network can provide the availability, recoverability and security of our customers' services, applications and data -- even in the event of a major disaster."
Since 1990, the NDR team has been activated 12 times in response to disasters, including restoring service after south Florida's devastating Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the Northridge, California earthquake in 1994, and tornadoes in Oklahoma in 1999. In 2001, the team mobilized to provide recovery services following the tragic attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York. Last October, AT&T mobilized a portion of its recovery fleet in response to the San Diego wildfires to aid in the restoration of communication services and to help individuals displaced by the fires to keep in touch with family.
The company will follow up on its NDR exercise with a Networking Leaders' Forum on Tuesday, July 20, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Foster City, that brings together AT&T executives, business customers and outside experts to discuss the latest trends in business continuity and disaster recovery. Dr. David Schwartz from the U.S. Geological Survey will discuss research on the threat of earthquakes in Northern California and their impact on area businesses.
AT&T Network Disaster Recovery Program
NDR exercises begin with an initial call-out to NDR team members to assemble at the disaster site to prepare for the arrival of the AT&T tractor-trailer trucks containing the equipment needed to restore telecommunications services.
Once the trailers arrive at the exercise site, the team can roll out up to 15 miles of coaxial and fiber optic cable to interconnect the individual components in the trailers to match the unique configuration of a damaged switching facility. Temporary microwave towers and satellite earth stations also can be erected for situations where cable cannot be used to access AT&T's global network.
The NDR team then begins the process of re-activating and testing communications service. Using the equipment in the trailers, they can, for example,
convert electronic signals to optical signals for transmission over AT&T's fiber optic network, amplify or regenerate optical signals, and link a recovery site by satellite to AT&T Network Operations Centers to allow remote testing.
With the NDR personnel and equipment, AT&T can recover communications services within days after a disaster.
The trailers, which have self-contained or dedicated power and environmental systems, generally travel by road, although they have been designed to be shipped by rail or air. When not in use, the trailers are strategically located in warehouses across the country.
More information on AT&T's NDR program is available at www.att.com/ndr.
About AT&T
For more than 125 years, AT&T (NYSE "T") has been known for unparalleled quality and reliability in communications. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company is a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data services.
