C Spire Introduces Free Public Safety Data Priority Service for Emergency First Responders' Critical Mobile Data Communications

With the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season just underway, US based telecommunications and technology services company C Spire, is introducing a new public safety data priority service today designed to help local and state emergency first responders send and receive critical mobile data communications during a crisis or natural disaster.

The free service gives emergency personnel, including state and local government, police, fire and other designated public health and safety professionals, priority data network access on C Spire's 4G LTE network. The feature, which requires applicants to apply at www.cspire.com/publicsafety, can be added to a designated account in less than 48 hours.

C Spire already waives the one-time activation charge and monthly service fee for Wireless Priority Service, a companion service that gives eligible emergency response agencies and personnel a higher priority voice connection to its mobile communications network during a crisis or natural disaster.

"In an emergency situation, essential voice and data communications are critical for public safety and emergency responders who need to get through as fast as possible," said C Spire Chief Network Officer Keith Paglusch, noting that hurricanes, widespread flooding and tornadoes cause billions of dollars in damage, injuries and result in deaths every year in the Southeast.

Paglusch said it is critical for first responders to be able to communicate during emergencies. "We want to support emergency responders by making these important voice and data resources available and affordable for cities, counties and state entities responsible for protecting the public during times of crisis or natural disaster," he added.

"We have a track record of service and innovation that is unmatched when it comes to meeting the critical needs of first responders," Paglusch said, recalling that C Spire made extensive preparations and network investments in 2005 to withstand Hurricane Katrina, which caused significant destruction and loss of life in New Orleans and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

C Spire has continued to leverage its investment in critical broadband infrastructure in its response to the Louisville tornado in 2014 and, last summer, by providing critical high-capacity wireless broadband connections to emergency services personnel responding to the U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 aircraft crash in rural Leflore County.