AT&T Conducts Largest-Ever Network Disaster Recovery Exercise in Wash DC

AT&T is conducting its largest ever Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) exercise at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, DC from July 8 to 17, 2009. The NDR exercise will feature more than 45 disaster recovery trailers and vehicles, including 28 semi-tractor trailers, two emergency communications vehicles, four hazmat trailers, one Satellite COLT (cell on light truck), and five smaller utility and support trailers.


Conducted several times per year, AT&T NDR exercises are designed to test, evaluate, refine, and strengthen how well AT&T can facilitate recovery from emergency situations, ranging from hurricanes to wildfires. The NDR exercise is a key component of AT&T's business continuity plan which ensures communications can be restored quickly to its government and business customers.


Last year, AT&T announced that the NDR team consolidated wireless, wired and backbone network recovery capabilities, enabling AT&T to bring an integrated approach to disaster recovery that helps ensure the flow of both wireless and wired communications during times of need.


"With hurricane season underway, the importance of ensuring communications combined with the need to be fully prepared is critical for both government and business," said, Kevin Peters, executive vice president of AT&T's Global Network Operations. "With the AT&T NDR Exercise, our federal, state and local government agency and Washington metropolitan area business customers can get a firsthand look at how AT&T's integrated approach to disaster recovery can help them maintain communications during a disaster."


Since 1992, AT&T NDR team has been activated more than a dozen times in response to disasters, including restoring service after the tornadoes in Oklahoma in 1999; the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001; Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005; and Hurricanes Gustav, Dolly and Ike in 2008.
http://www.att.com/ndr