- Emergency Management
Emergency Management
Telecommunications is a critical infrastructure that most other industrial sectors are dependent on (NATO 2002). Our industrial sector is recognized as part of the Canadian National Critical Infrastructure. We concur that telecommunications constitute an essential service in today's world and we have a reliable and secure network to ensure its availability on a day-to-day basis. We also aim to provide continuity of service in cases of emergency following natural or man-made disasters. In certain instances, we extend disaster relief to support communities beyond the markets we serve.
Connecting customers when disaster strikes
While BCE cannot guarantee that its customers' communications will not be affected in cases of natural or man-made disasters, we are committed to ensuring that our services to customers continue with minimum disruption. In fact, we have invested considerable resources in our business continuity plan which we have put into action on several occasions. For instance, when most of Ontario lost power in the great black-out of 2003, Bell telephone service continued to be available as usual thanks to back-up power sources. This meant emergency assistance crews were able to operate effectively and people in affected communities were able to stay in touch.
More recently, on the Obedjiwan reservation located in a remote area of Québec, all telecommunications service was lost when lightning struck the Bell central office. Within hours, Bell had set up emergency back-up wireless service with equipment flown in via a Sûreté du Québec helicopter. Community members maintained their emergency communication links with the outside world until regular service was restored.
Our call to go above and beyond
Sometimes we are called upon to do more than provide continuity of service to our customers in our markets. For instance, in 2005, Expertech, a Bell Canada majority-owned provider of installation and network infrastructure services, contributed to recovery efforts following hurricanes Katrina and Wilma by providing technicians, managers, vehicles and equipment. At its peak, Expertech provided up to 270 technicians and managers to help Bell South restore service to affected areas of Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.
During the SARS crisis of 2003, Bell rapidly pressed hundreds of emergency lines into service to enable public health officials and other workers to deal with the deluge of calls. Similarly, we quickly provided the Red Cross with a great number of additional lines following the Tsunami disaster of 2004 so they could handle increased call volumes. Immediately following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Northeastern US telecommunications traffic bound for Europe was successfully re-routed via Bell Canada's networks.
Planning for the worst
Our emergency management program is designed to ensure that we are prepared to respond to emergencies, continue with or resume our business, and where possible provide assistance to communities beyond our own markets. Our emergency response plan includes potential risk assessments, employee training, and security measures. Another important component of our program is the relationships we maintain with civil authorities such as Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada and law enforcement officials. By working in concert, we help ensure that our efforts are coordinated and effective when emergencies occur.
Here are some examples of activities that we engage in to ensure emergency preparedness:
- We participated in the Mercury Victor II government exercise involving Industry Canada, Government of Québec agencies and the Department of National Defence. The proposed scenario tested, among other things, the Bell response to a violent earthquake.
- Bell participated in a simulated terrorist attack to test our ability to ensure vital telecommunications services to emergency workers during a crisis of great magnitude.
Read story: "What if." Bell participates in emergency response simulation
9-1-1 Service
Ensuring that reliable 9-1-1 service is available throughout the vast majority of Bell Canada's territory involves extensive planning, investment and monitoring. We work with municipalities and emergency service providers to design and install 9-1-1 service in areas designated by municipalities. Our 9-1-1 service not only saves lives but is one of the most reliable systems of its kind, with a database integrity rate of 99.19%. This is considerably higher than the North American standard of 98%.
Over the years, we have refined the basic 9-1-1 service that gives callers the ability to access emergency service within a designated area. Enhanced 9-1-1 gives the emergency call taker a visual display of the caller's name, address and phone number. Our current standard, Emergency Public Reporting System (P.E.R.S.), is located in the telephone network unlike Enhanced 9-1-1 which employed a number of key components located at the emergency agencies. By moving the critical components into the network, the components are shared by many municipalities, which offers emergency agencies operating choices not available with Basic and Enhanced 9-1-1.
P.E.R.S. 9-1-1 eliminates routing challenges and enables the quick transfer of emergency calls to the proper agency or jurisdiction. Bell's newest system enables proper re-direction of the call without losing valuable time.
Bell's 9-1-1 service ensures that callers remain connected even if they hang up, and enables ringback or off-the-hook warning tone to help re-establish contact.
