The summer sun is shining bright, and as the weather heats up we know you’re starting to think about storm preparedness for your home but have you thought about it for your business yet? As a telecom industry leader based in Houston, Texas, we understand the critical importance of staying connected during extreme weather events. With hurricane season upon us, storm preparedness isn’t just a best practice—it’s a business imperative.
Telecom plays a vital role in disaster readiness and recovery. Whether you’re a small business owner or an enterprise IT manager, having a storm-resilient communications strategy can be the difference between continuity and chaos. In this blog, we’ll be discussing some Telecom Technologies that we recommend for clients, as well as some emerging trends in Storm Preparedness and some thoughts from our desk on how to be sure you aren’t caught in an outage.
The Unique Risk Facing Houston Businesses
Houston’s location on the Gulf Coast makes it particularly vulnerable to hurricanes, tropical storms, and severe flooding. In recent years, events like Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda have underscored the necessity for robust telecom infrastructure and contingency planning. If you were here during the derecho in 2024 – you know first hand how aerial transport can get knocked around and out. Our city presents unique challenges for Storm preparedness.
Telecom Technologies for Storm Preparedness
A. SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network)
SD-WAN enables automatic rerouting of traffic in the event of network failure. During a storm, it can detect outages and switch to the most stable connection path, including LTE or satellite backhaul. This keeps your operations online, even if your primary connection fails.
B. Cloud Communications and Hosted PBX
A cloud-based phone system ensures that your business lines remain active, even if physical offices are compromised. Hosted PBX systems allow employees to take calls from anywhere, maintaining business continuity through mobile apps or VoIP handsets.
C. Redundant Connectivity & LTE Failover
LTE failover services provide a secondary internet connection that automatically kicks in during an outage. In storm-prone areas like Houston, dual-carrier redundancy—fiber primary with LTE or satellite secondary—is now considered an essential service for critical operations.
D. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)
UCaaS platforms bundle voice, video, messaging, and collaboration into a single cloud-hosted solution. During storms, this enables remote work and internal coordination, even when local infrastructure is down.
Trends in Telecom for Emergency Preparedness
Edge Computing for Faster Disaster Response
Edge computing places processing power closer to the source of data. For first responders and utilities, this reduces latency in critical decision-making, such as flood monitoring or power restoration.
AI-Powered Network Monitoring
AI and machine learning now play key roles in network health monitoring. These tools predict potential points of failure before a storm hits, allowing for proactive maintenance and rerouting.
5G for Emergency Services and Remote Recovery
The expansion of 5G in Houston offers faster, more reliable bandwidth—especially beneficial for emergency services that rely on real-time data, telemedicine, and location tracking during disaster response.
Business Continuity Plans: The Telecom Layer
Your Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) plan should include:
- Backup internet and power solutions
- Contact lists and telecom provider SLAs
- Employee communication strategies
- Remote work enablement
- Data backup and redundancy (ideally in geographically diverse data centers)
Partnering with a local Houston telecom expert ensures that your storm preparedness plan aligns with regional risks and available infrastructure. We live here too, so we’re familiar with the hangups and snags that could delay your business getting back online after a storm.
Key Takeaways
- Storm preparedness is not optional: It is a critical function that protects infrastructure, revenue, and public safety.
- Physical and digital redundancies are equally important: Both hardening the infrastructure and building resilient network design are necessary.
- Cross-team coordination amplifies response effectiveness: No single department can manage storm response alone—collaboration is key.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What types of storms most commonly impact telecom infrastructure?
A: Hurricanes, ice storms, derechos, and severe thunderstorms are the most common threats. Flooding and high winds can compromise both aerial and underground systems.
Q2: How long should a telecom provider expect to recover from a major storm event?
A: Recovery time varies based on the severity of damage, but providers with robust disaster recovery and redundancy plans can often restore critical functions within 24–72 hours.
Q3: What role does cloud technology play in storm preparedness?
A: Cloud-based systems offer geographic redundancy, enabling critical applications and customer services to continue functioning even if a local data center is affected.
