AT&T, DOE Collaborate on Climate Resiliency Project

AT&T has partnered with a Department of Energy research laboratory to create a new tool to observe climate change and predict potential impacts on U.S. network infrastructure and business operations over the next 30 years.

The company said Wednesday it used insights, regional climate modeling data and mapping tools from Argonne National Laboratory to develop the Climate Change Analysis Tool.

The project aims to help the government and industry increase awareness of and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

“Together with Argonne National Laboratory, we’re using industry-leading science and technology to assess the risks of a changing climate to our business, so we can make data-driven decisions to better serve our customers and improve our corporate resilience,” said Scott Mair, president of AT&T Operations.

The company uses the tool to visualize climate-related events such as sea-level rise, surrounding copper lines, fiber cable locations, cell sites and central offices.

AT&T said the information would help companies and organizations plan for maintenance, disaster recovery and future construction to help customers.

The company plans to launch the tool in the southeastern side of the U.S., which in recent years was hit by a number of extreme weather and hurricanes.

Data from the Climate Change Analysis Tool will be available to the public, universities, municipalities and other organizations across the country.