The devastation of Hurricane Katrina brought a strong response from the tech community to offer services, from the anticipated creation of VoIP networks in refugee camps to backup and recovery for IT enterprise clients.Companies set up teams to restore IT assets knocked out throughout the Gulf Coast by the storm and ensuing flood. Among them: AT&T, IBM and Sprint Nextel.AT&T said it will establish IP-based calling centers where directed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to give evacuees and emergency workers access to free calling. The first of these centers is expected to be operational within a week. AT&T donated 35,000 prepaid phone cards, each with 30 minutes of free service, for distribution to victims. In Houston, AT&T is working with Avaya, Cisco Systems and SBC to establish a communications network for refugees moved to the Astrodome, the company said in a statement. The coalition of telecom companies will deliver local, long distance and Internet service to refugees. More than 1,000 phone lines, as well as a data infra-structure, will be available near the Astrodome.AT&T also bolstered the communications network it installed last year to support the 2004 Super Bowl hosted in Reliant Stadium. This IP infrastructure will make Houston the hub for a VoIP network to support refugee camps throughout the region. “Fortunately, AT&T had assets in place that allowed us to quickly assist the communications effort,” David Dorman, AT&T chairman and CEO, said in a statement. IBM meanwhile, acted to get IT clients back up on their feet, helping them transition from their data centers (applications, data, networks and personnel) to one of IBM’s recovery centers across the United States. In addition, Big Blue’s Crisis Management Team prepared to assist clients in the public and private sector with infrastructure needs, equipment acquisition and technical support to help clients return to normal business operations at their primary or alternative locations, the company said.IBM asked that clients call 1-800-IBM-SERV (option 4) for questions and assistance regarding business continuity and recovery needs. This channel is the first point of contact and is available to all clients, not just those who have existing business continuity and recovery services contracts.Sprint Nextel assembled hundreds of engineers and technicians, ready to move into the area. Included in the task force were two dozen specialty vehicles to coordinate the recovery effort and restore communications services. Sprint Nextel’s Enterprise Incident Management Team, the group which oversees disasters such as hurricanes, will deploy a Mobile Command Center with full network and IT capabilities to coordinate the recovery effort. Sprint Nextel’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) deployed five satellite cells on light trucks to help restore government and emergency services. The ERT comes equipped with 3,000 Nextel Walkie Talkie handsets for those emergency services customers and organizations. In addition, Sprint’s Government Sales group will be arriving with eight more RVs to assist government customers with their restoration needs. “Obviously, we must wait until it is safe to move into the area, but once it is safe to do so, our customers can count on us being there for them,” Sal Todaro, Sprint Nextel area vice president of the Southeast including Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, said in a statement. “There will be many power and other issues to deal with and we want to reassure our customers that we will put forth an effort second to none in recovering from this devastating storm.” The storm and flood virtually wiped out communications throughout much of New Orleans. Sprint Nextel reported that a long-distance switch located below sea level reported flooding and had to be powered down, affecting long-distance calls into and out of the area. Meanwhile, those wireless sites on battery backup will have to await deployed assets of generators and personnel to recharge batteries in order to turn the sites back on, the company said. Public Safety officials interested in requesting ERT assistance should call the Nextel Public Safety Call Center at (888) 639-0020 or 1-254-295-2220 for GETS users. On the open source front, Linux developer Steve Hargadon is building a public “Web station” to get aid to victims. He wants to develop Linux-based kiosks linked to a Firefox browser that can lead users to services.“Ultimately, the goal is to create the tools for immediate volunteer efforts to place public web stations in accessible areas after any major disaster, anywhere in the world,” he said on his Website, PublicWebStations.com. “Rather than needing to be coordinated centrally, this effort can be undertaken at the grass-roots level by individuals in affected areas.” He said he is looking for volunteers to help set up such Web stations in communities where the displaced will be housed. Technology Industry