As we wrap up week one of the Verizon workers strike, we are beginning to see some impacts to our clients. Service windows are expanding and the chance that a window will be missed is increasing. As the strike continues, our experience is that intervals and responsiveness may continue to erode as the backlog of work increases. We are hopeful that we do not experience any significant rain storms until everyone is back on the job. Storm damage could result in more trouble calls than the Verizon work teams can support.
ARG is advising our clients to review their business continuity plan for internet and voice services. Specifically, ask your teams what the impact would be if Verizon dependent services are interrupted for an extended period of time. And just because you are using a service provider other than Verizon does not mean that your service is not dependent upon Verizon. Unless you know specifically that your services are being delivered over a non-Verizon network, there is a high likelihood that your service is using the Verizon network, even if your bill is coming from another company.
Run through this quick business continuity checklist and create your action plan for an out of service condition for both your voice and data networks.
- (ARG clients can simply call our customer hot line – 703-770-2400 – 24 hours a day. ARG will open the carrier trouble ticket for you and keep you apprised as to progress with regular updates as we escalate on your behalf).
- If your services are not through ARG, take this time to gather your billing information, circuit IDs, carrier contact numbers, and employee response plans into one area.
- Review with your team how to open carrier trouble tickets and who will run point on getting updates.
- Identify critical services that need to be back up and running immediately. These are organization and executive main numbers, customer support lines, etc.
- Identify alternate routing options for both voice and data critical services.
- Ensure that these alternate routing methods are correctly configured and working.
If you do not have alternative access services, contact ARG. We have a suite of non-Verizon based services that can be quickly deployed to provide piece of mind. Even outside of a strike environment, all critical communication services should have a business continuity plan and inexpensive alternatively routed services are an important component of surviving service interruptions.
ARG Customer Hotline: 703-770-2400
Schedule time to discuss alternative access at: 866-521-5121 or info@myarg.com
