Tech tips to help stay connected during wildfire season

For Southern California residents, preparing and protecting your home or business in the event of a wildfire is a daily reality.

A top priority for Cox during a wildfire or other natural disaster is to keep customers connected so they can stay informed, check in with family and friends, and even access their shows and movies while away from home.

Cox also works hard to keep business customers, including hospitals and emergency responders, connected so they can continue to serve our communities.

Wildfire season now begins earlier and ends later than in years past, so Cox prepares all year long, reviewing its business continuity plan and running through various mock emergency events so employees in all parts of its operations will be prepared and know their role and responsibilities during a disaster.

When strong winds and other weather conditions create an increased risk for wildfires, the local power company may notify their residential customers, and business customers like Cox, that they’ll be implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). (Check with your local power company to see if they utilize PSPS).

In the event of a PSPS, Cox services may be interrupted. Customers need power to run their devices and Cox needs commercial power for its network. During a wildfire or PSPS, Cox works closely with the power company and public safety agencies to monitor the situation and ensure the safety of its network and facilities to help keep residential and business customers connected.

There are also some things customers can do to help better prepare for a natural disaster or Public Safety Power Shutoff.

Have a charged backup battery and corded phone
Most cordless home phones require electricity and won’t work in an outage. Make sure you keep a corded wireline phone available for use during a power outage.

In addition, power is needed for your other telephone equipment to place and receive calls. In the event of an emergency, if Cox’s network is operating during a power outage, make sure you have a charged backup battery to help ensure you can receive a Reverse 911 call. You can purchase a backup battery by calling 855-324-7700 or visiting a nearby Cox Solutions Store.

Get updates on Cox’s Twitter handle
In the event of a Public Safety Power Shutoff, wildfire or other natural disaster, Cox will post service outage updates and other important information on Twitter. Customers can follow Cox at @coxcalifornia.

Download Cox apps before a wildfire or PSPS occurs

• Cox app – Manage your account; receive notifications from the app when there’s an outage in your area and when the outage is over.
• Cox Contour app – Turn your smartphone or tablet into a portable TV; access programming available with your Cox subscription while away from home.
• Cox Voice Everywhere app – Your home phone away from home. Make or receive calls on up to four separate devices.

Consumer Disaster Protections
Customers whose residential telephone service is impacted during a state of emergency declared by the California Governor’s Office or the President of the United States may be eligible to receive disaster relief protections such as a waiver of one-time activation fee for establishing remote call forwarding, remote access to call forwarding, call forwarding features and messaging services. For information about these consumer disaster protections, click here.
For more helpful information and tips, visit www.cox.com/CaliforniaAssist.