U.S. Cable companies are stepping up efforts to prepare for natural disasters and other emergencies, an industry association said.

The National Cable and Telecommunications Association said companies including Comcast, Time Warner and Cox are updating their emergency plans, making assessments of new needs and coordinating plans with vendors, public utilities, broadcasters and telecommunications providers.

"With operations throughout south-eastern Louisiana as well as Gulf Coast Florida, we've had ample opportunity to exercise our disaster plans," said Greg Bicket, region manager for Cox Communications' New Orleans operation. "We're still learning many lessons about disaster recovery, and the days following Hurricane Katrina were clearly beyond anything the company has ever seen. New challenges revealed opportunities to further improve our plan."

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