Broadpoint Keeps Customers Productive Throughout Hurricane Ike

The high winds and heavy rainfall produced by a hurricane can have a potentially disastrous effect on the maritime industry, and that devastation is compounded if communication methods are down. Without this critical function, productivity is lost and safety is compromised, resulting in a huge financial burden on many offshore businesses.

Broadpoint, a full service telecommunications and network solutions company, operates out of Houston, New Orleans and Harahan, LA, and serves a heavy concentration of marine and oil and gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico. The company's locations and customer base have given it vast experience in weathering the region's extreme weather and generated a storm preparation process that allowed Broadpoint to maintain full monitoring and teleport services throughout Hurricane Ike.

There is a lesson to be learned in the company's comprehensive severe weather plan. The company begins preparations several days prior to a storm's entering the Gulf of Mexico. Key elements of preparation include redundant network monitoring systems, the ability to transfer these systems to alternate locations out of the storm's way and having preconfigured equipment in several bandwidths and cellular configurations available to assist customers who experience equipment damage.

Broadpoint begins its emergency communication process with all customers prior to the storm's anticipated landfall. At this time, the company notifies customers of a call-in phone number or email address that they can use to gain the most up-to-date information, as well as order any additional or needed supplies before the storm hits. Broadpoint representatives remain in constant communication with customers throughout the storm and have field technicians out in the field making necessary repairs as soon as it is safe to do so.

Broadpoint's teleports remained up and running during Ike's landfall and in the aftermath. Currently, six days after Ike, the company's technicians are focused on repairing any damaged customer equipment and installing replacement gear where needed. Communication is critical to safe and productive offshore operations. This is a clear illustration of the difference that proper preparation and dedication to a customer's productivity can make facing severe weather.

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