The cellular and specialised mobile radio operators in the San Fernando Valley suffered very little earthquake damage and had people rushing around handing cellular phones to the emergency services, but Pacific Telesis Group Inc’s Pacific Bell and AT&T Co were rather more shaken: PacBell said the earthquake caused minor damage to its telephone network and although it lifted some network controls on Monday night, congestion was still the most serious problem and it was reminding people not to place calls unless they need emergency assistance; by 9.15pm local time, its technicians had repaired a damaged fibre cable serving 1,500 residents in Piru near Ojai; of its 78 call-routing offices in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, 16 were using emergency back-up generators instead of commercial power; AT&T said telephone equipment in Los Angeles was back in service, and long distance equipment in Sherman Oaks was also operational after having been knocked out by Monday’s earthquake; most long distance service was restored to parts of the 213, 310, 805 and 818 area codes late on Monday, the company added.
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