DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. – A C-5M Super Galaxy from Dover Air Force Base, Delaware landed here to provide airlift for AT&T communication equipment and technicians Oct. 2 and Oct. 4.
The airlift mission provided critical infrastructure restoration in support of life-saving activities underway in Puerto Rico.
Many of the island’s 3 million residents have been without communication since the island took the full brunt of Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017.
To restore communication capabilities on the island, AT&T provided mobile communications assets in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
This equipment included three vehicles: two satellite cell on light trucks (COLT) and one emergency communication vehicle (EMV). Members of AT&T Network Disaster Recovery Team use these vehicles to restore Wi-Fi, LAN lines and Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) capabilities, explained Lou Fiorenza, an AT&T Network Disaster Recovery Team member.
The C-5M Super Galaxy transporting this communication cargo is capable of carrying 135 tons and is the largest aircraft in the Air Force inventory.