Verizon Response

Tropical Storm Zeta

What you need to know:

• Verizon consumer (prepaid and postpaid) and small business customers in Louisiana and Mississippi in the path of Tropical Storm Zeta will receive unlimited calling, texting and data starting 10/28 through 11/1
• As Zeta heads towards the Gulf Coast, our emergency response teams are busy making sure residents, visitors and first responders can stay connected before, during and after the storm
  
• If you live in an area that will be affected by Zeta, now is the time to make sure you know your weather plan and are making sure you and your family are prepared

Verizon offers customers relief in advance of Tropical Storm Zeta

For our consumer and small business customers in the path of Zeta, beginning Wednesday, October 28 through Sunday, November 1, Verizon is providing unlimited calling, texting and data to those who reside in the following parishes and counties:

Louisiana: Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint James, Saint Tammany, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne

Mississippi: Hancock, Harrison, Jackson

We’re ready to keep our network running

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In preparation for Zeta, the Verizon network team has been busily readying the network to provide reliable, dependable communications before, during and after the storm. When storms like Zeta hit, power outages are commonplace. Verizon has backup power in the form of batteries and generators at our cell sites and network facilities so that even if commercial power is lost, our network can continue to run. These batteries and generators have come in handy many times already this year with the other storms that have hit. We have also pre-arranged for ongoing fuel deliveries to the generators so if commercial power is out for a long period, we are able to keep customers and first responders connected to the people and resources they need.

Extreme weather events can also damage fiber optic cables, which carry data and are an essential part of keeping our wireless network running. Despite having duplicate fiber paths for redundancy, fiber can be damaged in multiple places due to sustained winds, a storm surge or even manual cuts during storm recovery work, impacting communications. To respond to that circumstance, we have a fleet of satellite enabled portable equipment that can serve as a temporary alternative to fiber and can aid in the restoration of service in critical areas.