An article this morning by Anton Troianovski of the Wall Street Journal provides an insightful look at the challenges facing telecommunications carriers as they work to restore service to areas hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy ― most notably in lower Manhattan and New Jersey. 

While there has been much reporting in the media on cell phone, landline and broadband availability in the wake of the storm, Mr. Troianovski’s article goes a level deeper by exploring how the storm has affected the physical infrastructure that powers those services ― as well as the ingenuity and dedication of the people working to bring them back to full capacity, despite infrastructure damage not seen in Manhattan since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It is worth a read for anyone interested in understanding better how the hubs and switching stations which we may often overlook as we walk or drive past them make our everyday communications possible.