While the Northeast tucks in for a winter storm, we wonder what challenges CSPs face when digging out of a heavy snowfall

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

February 8, 2013

1 Min Read
CSPs Prep for Nemo, Heavy Snow

A winter storm called Nemo is expected to hit the Northeast part of the U.S. this afternoon and could leave behind a couple of feet of snow while whipping the region with winds in the 20 to 30 mile per hour range. The National Weather Service says, in all caps, that we should anticipate power outages -- and that means cell tower overload and broadband outages as well:

  • HEAVY SNOW AND WINDS WILL MAKE FOR DANGEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS WITH VISIBILITIES NEAR ZERO IN WHITE-OUT CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION... SOME TREE LIMBS WILL BE DOWNED... CAUSING SCATTERED POWER OUTAGES.

The weight of snow is tough on building roofs, outside equipment, and powerlines. Flight cancellations are piling up as more than 3,000 flights have been scrapped today alone by the nation's airlines. Also, the driving conditions will keep businesses from operating as they normally would. But what other dangers do folks see threatening communications networks when there's a large, sustained snowfall? Customer service phone queues will get longer. Repairs will be harder to make and will take longer to assess. What troubles have you seen in past snowfalls and how did you or your CSP do in fixing things? For more

— Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

About the Author(s)

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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