Emergency Operations & Pandemic Planning
Consolidated Communications’ Emergency Operations Plan includes preparing for pandemics. The plan is actively being followed by our Business Continuity Team and guides our response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It includes safety, security and training processes, business response, internal and external communications plans and service restoration efforts should there be a service-impacting event.
Operational Readiness
It’s our job to keep you connected. Our action plans focus on ensuring stability of services and network performance for our customers and taking appropriate action to respond to any situation.
Most of our employees are set up to work remotely while some critical functions remain in offices or on job sites. Where we have critical positions that cannot work from home, we
implemented social distancing in the work environment, instituted a face covering policy and recommended certain
technician work groups utilize their option to home garage. Either way, we remain committed to delivering the same responsive, high level of service you have come to expect without interruption. We have a fully-staffed, geographically diverse, U.S.-based customer service, network operations and provisioning team.
Our Network Operations Center has geographic diversity and is staffed to meet demands during any event. Our redundant, diverse, owned-and-managed network also stands ready to shift traffic to meet demands. Recognizing increased work from home usage, we are proactively monitoring and augmenting our network capacity.
Health and Safety
We are following the guidelines of public health agencies and recommending numerous preventative measures to our employees to help them avoid becoming sick. We are also encouraging employees to seek medical attention for any signs of illness. An internal email and phone number is also available to report any employee concerns or issues.
We
are providing on-site support to our customers, unless circumstances or
events prohibit us from doing so, and are calling ahead of on-site scheduled service appointments to verify the location is safe to enter. We are also adhering to all customer restrictions,
limitations or policies. When presented with a safety concern related to
COVID-19, Consolidated Communications employees are providing customers with temporary, customized solutions to fit their needs and/or may postpone or
reschedule an appointment.
Field employees are being provided with all required personal protective equipment, including face coverings and hand sanitizer, and are required
to wear face coverings when entering a customer’s home or business; when state,
county or local municipalities mandate it; or when unable to socially distance
from a customer or co-worker.
Those in contact with customers and partners are also taking additional precautions, including practicing social distancing, wearing safety glasses, using gloves when handling customer equipment and using company-provided soap and water for remote hand washing.
Service-Impacting Events
Our redundant, diverse, owned-and-managed network stands ready to meet customer demands. However, should an interruption of service occur, the Company will comply with various governmental regulations concerning restoral of service priority and customer notifications during times of a disaster or catastrophe. Our comprehensive plan of action includes the prioritization of medical, government and other critical facilities.
Additional Information
At this time, there are no changes in our ability to service customers. We continue to support our existing customers and provide new services. We encourage you to check this page for the latest updates and information on any necessary changes to our operating procedures. If you have questions regarding our business continuity plans or response to COVID-19, please contact us at prepare@consolidated.com. For any other needs, please call 1.844.YOUR.CCI.