One thing readily apparent since Tuesday’s events at the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon is the heroic efforts made by people willing to
lend a helping hand.
Internet service providers (ISPs), Web hosting companies, the Bells and
other tech firms have done no less than others at home or abroad to aid the
many people left suddenly bereft. Companies that are usually rivals are
coming together without thought of personal self-promotion to help out any
in need.
Joseph Skoler of Compuhelp Internet, a technology and dial-up and digital subscriber line (DSL)
provider located only three blocks from the WTC, knows how lucky he is that
his business is still around today.
“It was pretty scary, being so close, knowing people who work in and around
the buildings, and having been in and around them a thousand times,” Skoler
said. “We have been unaffected, except that our offices are in the
(Triangle Below Canal, or TriBeCa) which was completely shut down by the
city, so we’re running on a skeleton crew.”
Skoler said the local POP server his ISP uses is collocated at the Telehouse International colo facility
located on 25 Broadway. It’s been running on diesel generators since
Tuesday, so fuel replenishment has been a problem, although a story
yesterday by another ISP-Planet staff member shows it is being
addressed.
As of press time, Telehouse has been out of commission due to an overworked
diesel generator. It’s uncertain when service to the facility will be
re-established since phone calls to the New York office are next to
impossible and the difficulty in finding and getting a replacement
generator to the building.
Other businesses in New York City weren’t as “lucky” as Compuhelp.
Verizon Communications, the incumbent
local exchange carrier (ILEC) serving the New York City area, was hit hard
by Tuesday’s events. With 19 central offices (CO) in Manhattan, five of them south
of 14th Street, serving roughly three million data circuits, millions of
people were suddenly without phone services or Internet connections.
Exacerbating the situation are the many relatives calling into the city to
find out about loved ones, a situation that Verizon officials say is
straining the company’s voice network almost to the breaking point.
The telco, normally lambasted by customers and critic alike, is drawing
praise for the efforts it has taken thus far to get phone services
established. According to reports, the 140 West Street CO is almost
completely ruined; in addition to the damage it took from the collapse of
the towers, its basement was flooded with the water used by firefighters to
control the blaze.
Jim Smits, Verizon spokesperson, said that right now technicians are still
in the process of assessing the extent of the damage.
“Going into Day three, we’re still assessing what needs to be done,” Smits
said. “We’re working side by side with city officials and other carriers
to reroute traffic around the affected switches to get services running
again.”
In addition to providing collocation and switching services for ISPs, the
CO at 140th West Street is the main link to the voice and data network for
the New York Stock Exchange, which is expected to open its doors Monday.
According to nycdave, a Verizon employee posting on consumer DSL Web site
DSLReports.com, the clean up and repair of the routers and switches for
the stock exchange is its first priority.
“ISPs are obviously high on the priority list, but we first must think
about restoring the physical plan and saving any additional people trapped
under the rubble,” he said.
Lending a Helping Hand
To the rescue are communications companies around the U.S. who are donating
their time and resources to help out the businesses affected by the network
collapses.
Oriya Pollak, chief technology officer for INYC Corp., a New York City ISP,
said INYC is providing free Web
hosting and email services for at least the next 90 days to any company
affected by the network outages, and has reserved enough Web space to host
2,000 Web sites to do so.
“As an ISP located in New York City and being New Yorkers, we were all
extremely hurt and shocked at what happened in our city, our country,”
Pollak said. “We have received many phone calls and requests from partner
companies that are in need of email and other essentials to minimize loss
of business. That made me realize that we could help, our heart went out to
them as businesses got shut down. The Internet is all about working
together, and what a better time then now.”
He also sent out a plea to other ISPs with posts to various ISP-Lists. The
response was huge, with an initial outpouring from Web hosts and ISPs
everywhere. A Web site was set up recently to conglomerate all the
different ISPs providing their services.
Hail From the Chief
The outpouring of help and goodwill was enough to warrant a response from
Michael Powell, the chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission, who took time to speak about the tragedy at
a meeting Wednesday.
“I would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest gratitude to
the many communications entities both in New York and here in Washington,
D.C. for their heroic efforts in ensuring the world’s premier
communications network has continued to be available in this time of
tragedy,” Powell said. “In particular, the efforts of Verizon have been
nothing short of outstanding, as have been the disaster relief efforts of
AT&T and the countless other communications entities. I cannot express
enough our pride in thesee efforts at a time when many of our regulates
have lost members of their internal families.”
