OnSIP and Live Air Networks provided only reliable line of communication after the Bastrop County Complex fire
New York, New York
With the help of OnSIP VoIP and their own Internet transit, LiveAir Networks supplied the only reliable means of communication available in the City of Smithville during the Bastrop County Complex wildfires in Texas. The majority of phones provided by other service providers in the area were out of commission at a time when there was an urgent need for communication.
“On Monday, September 5, the citizens of Smithville awoke to virtually no cell phone service, no landline phone service, limited cable television service, and a major wildfire only... miles west of town,” said James Breeden, CEO of LiveAir Networks, a provider of high speed internet services in Central Texas.
Once it became evident that residents couldn’t reach police and fire response units, LiveAir Networks’ team was quick to act. Within a few hours, LiveAir supplied Internet access and Polycom phones to the police station, city hall, and community centers. Using OnSIP, LiveAir assigned phone numbers and established phone service, enabling all entities to make and receive calls.
“During the critical first hours and days of the Bastrop County Complex Wildfires, at a time when we had basically no means of communication, LiveAir was able to step up and get us the tools in reestablishing contact to the E.O.C. I cannot thank Mr. Breeden and his company enough on behalf of the City of Smithville,” said Smithville Mayor, Mark A. Bunte.
For almost a week, Internet and phone service provided by LiveAir and OnSIP, respectively, were the only reliable means of communication in town for the city, emergency operations, local shelters, and donation coordination. AT&T was able to restore services approximately 3-4 days later while Time Warner suffered intermittent outages for weeks.
City of Smithville parks and recreation director and volunteer firefighter Andis Goble said that LiveAir’s quick deployment of OnSIP VoIP “very well could have saved lives.”
“OnSIP came to the rescue when everything else in town had failed,” added Breeden. “I’m positive that we couldn’t have deployed another solution [at] the sheer speed we did that morning to make calls happen...”
More details on the wildfire and LiveAir’s emergency response can be found here.
About LiveAir Networks
LiveAir Networks is one of the Central Texas region’s leading technical services providers. Since 2003, LiveAir has invested over $750,000 in its Central Texas infrastructure covering over 2400 square miles of Bastrop, Fayette and Lee counties of Texas including the towns of Smithville, Giddings, Lexington, La Grange, and Flatonia. LiveAir’s privately owned and operated Metro Ethernet network delivers rural customers unparalleled client service and connectivity that ensures speed, reliability, and performance. With LiveAir, businesses and residents alike can count on robust broadband, voice, information technology, and Internet-based solutions created and supported by uncompromising technical experts. For more information, visit http://www.liveair.net.
About OnSIP
Having helped over 10,000 customers, Junction Networks is a leading provider of hosted pbx to small and medium-sized businesses. OnSIP, by Junction Networks, is an intuitive and reliable business phone service on the Internet for companies with 5 to 100 employees. OnSIP customers enjoy the benefits of a business class phone system, without the traditional high cost, burden, and inflexibility. For more information, visit http://www.onsip.com.