CommunityCategoryPress Release

T-Mobile Responds to Hurricane Delta

October 07, 2020

Update – October 12th, 2020

Network Update

Our network engineering team continues to make significant progress, and at this point we are pleased to report that there are only a small number of remaining sites impacted in Houston and Mobile. Our teams continue to refuel deployed generators, and we anticipate remaining impacted sites to be restored in the coming days.

Customer &Community Support

Our community relief trucks continue to support customers in Lafayette and Lake Charles today, providing WiFi access, charging facilities and dropping off pre-lit devices in accordance with social distancing measures for COVID-19.

Store Update

There are a small number of stores in impacted areas that remain closed. As a reminder, if you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be happy to help.

Update October 11th, 2020

Network

Our network engineering teams continue working hard to restore the network in areas impacted by Hurricane Delta, and overnight significant progress was made. The network in Memphis has been fully restored, and the majority of impacted sites remain in the Houston and Mobile markets at this time. We have a large number of generators deployed, and our teams continue to work quickly to restore those sites as soon as possible.

Customer & Community Support

Community relief trucks will begin supporting our customers in Lafayette and Lake Charles, LA, assisting in locations where there are closed stores. The trucks will be providing WIFI access, charging facilities and dropping off pre-lit devices in a socially distanced manner in line with COVID restrictions.

As a reminder, T-Mobile is waiving overage charges for talk, text and data for T-Mobile, Sprint and Metro by T-Mobile customers in selected areas of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi who are not already on unlimited plans. From 10/9 through 10/15, we are providing unlimited talk, text and data for customers in the following locations:

  • Louisiana Parishes: Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Buearegard, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebone, Vermillion, Vernon, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana
  • Texas Counties: Angelina, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, San Augustine, Shelby, Tyler
  • Mississippi Counties: Adams, Amite, Franklin, Lincoln, Wilkinson

Stores

A number of our stores in TX and LA remain closed. If you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be happy to help.

Update – October 10th, 2020

Hurricane Delta made landfall yesterday evening near Creole, LA, causing damage and power outages throughout the impacted region. Our teams continue to monitor the situation and are working closely with local authorities to gain safe passage into the impacted areas.

Network Update

At this stage, we’re seeing the majority of impacts to our network in the Mobile, Houston and Memphis markets. Where it is safe to do so, our engineering teams are working hard to deploy generators and create refueling schedules.

The aftermath of large storms is usually a time of high demand for wireless networks as our customers look to stay in touch with loved ones and authorities. We recommend that, where possible, customers send a text instead of making a call. If you need to make a call, we encourage you to try WiFi calling (if you have a working WiFi connection) and keep calls as short as possible.

If you are a Sprint customer on the Sprint network, you can roam on the T-Mobile network if the Sprint network is impacted and T-Mobile is not.

Store Update

A number of our stores in TX and LA remain closed in the aftermath of the storm. If you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be happy to help.

More Information

Over the coming days, you can stay up to date on our response and recovery efforts via the following channels:

  • Check the T-Mobile Newsroom.
  • Follow us on Twitter at @TMobile and @Sprint.
  • Follow our CEO Mike Sievert and T-Mobile President of Technology Neville Ray on Twitter.

As a reminder, for local updates for Hurricane Delta, check out these sites:

Update – October 9th, 2020

T-Mobile is closely monitoring Hurricane Delta as it makes landfall over the U.S. Gulf Coast. Our rapid-response teams are on standby to assist our customers and help minimize any potential service interruptions. In addition, we are working to ensure our employees, stores and facilities are well prepared for the storm conditions.

Store Update

A number of our stores in TX and LA are taking safety precautions and may be closed ahead of the storm’s arrival. If you need to visit us, please reach out to your local store to confirm they are open. You can also call 611 or 1-800-937-8997 from your handset if you need assistance or have questions about your account or service and we will be happy to help.

Text to Donate

Help people affected by Hurricane Delta. Text Delta to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross to help those most affected by Hurricane Laura. Your donation enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster. This includes providing food, shelter, relief supplies, emotional support and other assistance. Text messaging charges may apply, and the one-time donation will show up on their next T-Mobile bill. For more information, please visit: https://www.t-mobile.com/customers/text-to-give

See T-Mobile.com for plan information, Terms & Conditions, and other policies.

UPDATE - October 8, 2020

Customer & Community Support
T-Mobile is waiving overage charges for talk, text and data for T-Mobile, Sprint and Metro by T-Mobile customers in selected areas of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi who are not already on unlimited plans. From 10/9 through 10/15, we are providing unlimited talk, text and data for customers in the following locations:

Louisiana Parishes: Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Buearegard, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, St. Helena, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebone, Vermillion, Vernon, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana

Texas Counties: Angelina, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, San Augustine, Shelby, Tyler

Mississippi Counties: Adams, Amite, Franklin, Lincoln, Wilkinson

Network
Our local teams are working hard to prepare our networks along Delta’s projected path to minimize any network impacts. We’ve staged a number of temporary solutions for quick deployment where needed in the aftermath of the storm. This includes additional generators, a fleet of temporary network solutions such as Cells on Wheels (COWs), Cells on Light Trucks (COLTs) satellite infrastructure, small cells, Mobile Command Trailers

As the storm approaches and makes landfall, it’s possible that customers in coastal Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes may experience short-term impacts to their coverage. If your mobile service is interrupted or spotty, we recommend customers try the following:

  • If you have home broadband and power but no mobile service, try Wi-Fi calling, which allows T-Mobile and Sprint customers with capable devices to text and make and receive voice calls via any capable Wi-Fi connection. IMPORTANT: If you have to call 911 using Wi-Fi, be sure to give your address to the operator.
  • If you have a connection to the T-Mobile and Sprint networks, keep calls to a minimum and as short as possible. This helps reduce the load on our network so others can get through.
  • If you are a Sprint customer on the Sprint network, you can roam on the T-Mobile network if the Sprint network is impacted and T-Mobile is not.
  • Send a text instead of making a call. Text messages get through easier during times of congestion.

More information on how T-Mobile prepares for storms like Hurricane Delta, is available in the T-Mobile Newsroom.

For the local updates and preparation tips for Hurricane Delta, check out these site:

October 7, 2020

As Hurricane Delta moves through the Gulf of Mexico towards the US Gulf Coast, T-Mobile has begun to mobilize our emergency response teams to assist our customers during and after the storm. If necessary, we are prepared to deploy additional personnel and network support equipment to minimize any potential service interruptions and aide any impacted communities.

Part of our preparations may include closing some stores on Thursday, depending on the projected tracks of the storm. If you need to visit one of our locations, please reach out to your local store to confirm their status.

We know how staying connected is key in times like these. As a reminder, the majority of T-Mobile and Sprint customers are on plans offering unlimited talk, text and data.

  • For T-Mobile, these are customers on Magenta, Essentials, Unlimited Age 55+, T-Mobile One, or Simple Choice plan, while Sprint customers on Sprint’s Unlimited, Unlimited Freedom and certain older plans are also covered. 
  • Metro by T-Mobile customers also have unlimited talk and text on all plans. 

If you are in an area that could potentially be impacted, we encourage you to follow any evacuation orders that may be issued by local authorities and hope that you stay safe over the coming days. In the meantime, we recommend customers, particularly along the Gulf Coast, take the following steps to prepare themselves for potential effects of the storm.

  • Make a disaster kit! Include things like batteries, snacks, water, first aid kit, flashlight and device chargers.
  • Update your family, friends and emergency services contact numbers. Make sure they’re saved and backed up AND written down someplace accessible.
  • Subscribe to local authorities’ text alerts and connect with local authorities’ social networks to learn about new developments before, during and after a disaster.
  • Keep your mobile devices fully charged! Have charging cables handy and consider investing in a car or portable charging device.
  • Download emergency-assistance apps from the Red Cross and FEMA.
  • Make sure your phone supports Wireless Emergency Alerts and that you have enabled notifications on your device. Visit t-mobile.com/wea for details on how to set up alerts on T-Mobile and Sprint devices.
  • Set up Wi-Fi Calling on your phone. For Apple phones, go to Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling; for Android phones, go to Settings > More Connection Settings > Wi-Fi Calling.

More information on how T-Mobile prepares for storms like Hurricane Delta, is available in the T-Mobile Newsroom.

*During congestion, customers using >50GB/mo. and Essentials customers may notice lower speeds than other customers due to data prioritization. Metro by T-Mobile customers using >35GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds and Metro customers may notice reduced speeds vs. T-Mobile due to prioritization. 

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