The Hurricane

This year's hurricane season is in full swing. DIRECTV 's Field Operations teams are always evaluating the local weather conditions and preparing to support our customers and operational systems when the power goes out and the television signal goes dark. Of course we try to never have a customer impacting outage and go to great lengths to keep our networks online no matter what the conditions are outside.

How I support DIRECTV in the Field

My job is to keep the lights on for the Local Channel contributions to DIRECTV Stream, DIRECTV Beam in the midwestern states. Because I drive everywhere I travel, the key to my success is to have a vehicle that is packed with equipment that can be deployed in a moments notice to support our network teams that keep the lights on. Being prepared is paramount, and I am always ready to support our customers and teams when called.

The Truck

My weekly commute happens in a full size 4WD truck with an enclosed shell on the back. The truck will travel 500 miles on a tank of gas. I can go up to 800 miles when I add the ancillary tanks. I have an inverter on the truck, so I can generate my own electricity to power my laptop and testing equipment. I take very good care of my "Rolling Office" and consider a clean vehicle an outward expression of the pride I have towards my company and the work I do with my team. I clean the truck weekly, and inspect it for any defect or issue that might prohibit my ability to support my team.

I have tools, connectors, cabling, PDUs, batteries, testing equipment, 2 First aid kits, climbing gear, a covid kit(Masks, gloves, test kit, etc.), antennas, and all kinds of other items to support basically anything that might fail out in the field.

I also carry a case of water, and 24hrs of food (MREs). When I know I am headed to a disaster area I will bring 72hrs of food, several cases of water and my chain saw with enough oil to mix 5 gallons of fuel. Sometimes, the hardest part or restoring services is just getting to the remote site.

Hurricane Helene

When Hurricane Helene hit landfall I was working in Lexington, KY. When I heard that the storm turned north, I headed to the grocery store and outfitted the truck in case I was called. Thankfully, our networks survived the storm and I didn't need to engage and support.

Hurricane Milton

Not long after I returned home from Lexington, we were notified that Hurricane Milton was coming. When the Hurricane hit landfall I was working in Jackson, TN. Again, I was thankful that our Southeast networks survived the storm and I did not need to engage and support.

Strategically Placed Team

I am part of a team of eleven Field Engineers strategically places across the country that support our local channel networks. I am thankful that in both weather events this month my team members on the ground in Florida and the Carolinas were both safe and able to mobilize quickly to support our customers as soon as it was safe to do so. To learn more about I support DIRECTV please read my article called So, What do you do for DIRECTV anyway?

Leading the Industry

I believe my team and our company lead the industry in supporting our customers and our services. Keeping the "Lights on" so our customers never lose access to the programming we offer is paramount, and even one outage is too many.

For more information about DIRECTV's residential offerings please click?HERE. To see how DIRECTV could help your business increase revenue or provide a value added service to your customers or employees please click?HERE.? If either of these links don't provide you with the information you are looking for, reach out to me directly and I will personally put you in touch with someone who can help.?

To learn more about John and the work he does for DIRECTV please click?HERE.?

The views expressed in this blog post reflect the experiences and opinions of the author only and are not meant to be any official correspondence from DIRECTV, its Dealers, affiliates or any related entities. Copyright John MacGugan 2024

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