USA

On September 11th, 2001, the United States was the target of a well-organized terrorist attack. Four planes were hijacked and turned into suicide bombs - two planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York, a third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington and a fourth plane went down in rural Pennsylvania. The World Trade Center collapsed as a result and the streets of downtown Manhattan were showered with dust and debris.

Immediately following the attacks, traffic on mobile and terrestrial communication networks was at maximum capacity as frantic people called to make sure their friends and family were okay. Relief organizations sprung to action, hospitals prepared for the worst and thousands of people lined up to donate blood. As the days progressed, more than 4000 people were announced missing and presumed dead, including hundreds of firemen and police officers. The cleanup at the World Trade Center site is expected to last for months.

Minutes after the attacks occurred, an emergency disaster team was assembled at Ericsson Montreal. The team worked to maintain service for overloaded TDMA switches.

Ericsson in the US donated mobile phones, batteries and accessories to the relief workers in Washington, DC.

Cingular, a mobile operator in the US, donated thousands of Ericsson phones to the Department of Defense at the Pentagon for use in their disaster recovery efforts.

Dozens of Ericsson mobile phones were sent to airports in northern New York which were without payphone service so that those stranded could contact family and friends.

Ericsson reinforced AT&T's mobile network around the Pentagon, Congress and the White House in order to relieve network congestion.

Ericsson Canada offered the use of a "Cell on Wheels" (COW) mobile unit to New York City. The COW is a fully transportable cellular site that can offer cellular service in disaster struck areas.

In Canada, Ericsson employees donated approximately $29,000 to the Canadian Red Cross - USA Appeal program.

In the United States, employees have donated almost $170,000 to the relief efforts and Ericsson has promised to bring that total to half a million dollars.

• American Red Cross
• Cingular, a US mobile operator
• AT&T, a US mobile operator