Our data and communications networks, both physical and wireless, are parts of critical infrastructure with lasting consequences when we can't access them, especially during a disaster situation. When they aren't busy showing you speckled red maps and boasting superior coverage in the US, Verizon Wireless is pouring money into backup plans and emergency preparedness scenarios that involve every aspect of the company. Verizon has a team dedicated to planning for the worst, and the team has proven themselves many times in the past as more than just a team that works to restore wireless and landline communications. Over time this team has developed the resources to offer aid to first responders, and in some situations has even been fully deployed before those emergency teams have been able to assemble aid stations for civilians. Recently we were able to take a look at some of the planning and hardware that goes in to making this possible, as well as talk with the folks who go into these disasters ready to lend a hand. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines

"As far as I'm concerned, when a disaster strikes somewhere every Verizon employee is available to me to help there." Tom Serio, a Manager in Verizon's Crisis Response team, said as he started his presentation this week to a room full of government agencies from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. He meant it, too. When Hurricane Sandy struck New York and New Jersey in 2012, Verizon Wireless stores opened back up well before the surrounding areas had recovered, and those locations were immediately turned into shelter-like safe zones for people to charge their devices and take advantage of whatever resources the location was able to pull together, even if that was just air conditioning and bottled water. At the same time, Verizon's teams are working with first responders — fire, police and other emergency services — by handing out phones, tablets, and MiFi units to those who need them. This is a procedure Verizon and other operators have repeated all over the U.S., and occasionally includes flying in volunteers from other areas to help restore an area to a functional state. It's called "Big Red" for several obvious reasons. There isn't always an unaffected Verizon store conveniently located in the middle of all the chaos, so the company has put together a fleet of vehicles to deal with that. If you're familiar with extended deployment plans for mobile carriers, you're probably familiar with Cell on Wheels and Cell on Light Truck vehicles — affectionately shortened to COWs and COLTs by the folks who make and use them — but Verizon's fleet goes well above and beyond portable generators and mobile cell towers. In a crisis situation, the company is able to rapidly deploy massive trailers and temporary structures filled with workstations, mobile communications systems, and even lighting and surveillance equipment to help establish a functional basecamp for first responders.

The first vehicle we were shown earned the title "Big Red" for several obvious reasons. It's a massive 44-foot trailer on the back of a tractor-trailer, with a generator the size of a small car powering 50 workstations inside. A massive dish sits on top to connect the trailer to Verizon's network if it is down in the area, allowing it to serve as a functional base of operations even when everything in the surrounding area has been destroyed. Verizon demonstrated how these workstations have been used for everything from FEMA paperwork stations and temporary workstations for police officers to temporary offices for displaced workers that need to check in and charge their hardware. The workstations themselves are simple but effective, offering power outlets and USB ports with an HP Chromebook and a telephone for anyone who needs them.