Bellevue, Wash. — Sep. 25, 2005
T-Mobile USA, Inc. today issued an initial network assessment and information on its recovery efforts in coastal Texas and Louisiana following Hurricane Rita's landfall Saturday.
Following is updated information from T-Mobile as of September 25 at 4:00 p.m. CDT:
-- More than 80 percent of T-Mobile's cell sites in the areas of Texas and Louisiana affected by Hurricane Rita are operational.
-- T-Mobile's Disaster Response Team has been deployed to areas hardest hit by Hurricane Rita, which includes Galveston and Beaumont, Texas and Lake Charles, LA, to conduct onsite recovery efforts. The team is deploying dozens of generators to the area to restore service to cell sites that lost commercial power.
-- T-Mobile's core network in Texas and Louisiana remained operational during the storm Saturday. T-Mobile's network switch in Houston - key to enabling service in the area - was maintained during the storm via onsite generator power and is now being served by commercial power. The wireless carrier's network switch in New Orleans continues to remain operational and is also served by commercial power.
-- T-Mobile expects heavy call volume and some call congestion along the I-45 corridor Sunday and Monday due to high demand for service as evacuees make their way back in to Houston and coastal areas. In an effort to increase network capacity, T-Mobile is deploying several Cells-On-Wheels (COWs) along the Interstate to support wireless communications.
-- In order to better facilitate communication between families and loved ones and to alleviate network congestion, T-Mobile recommends customers utilize text messaging instead of voice calls to communicate. Text messages have a greater success rate in getting through the network during high-usage periods.
-- T-Mobile HotSpot is offering free Wi-Fi Internet service* at many of its locations in Houston, Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, College Station, Del Rio, Galveston, McAllen, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, which have not been forced to close due to the storm. There will be no charge for T-Mobile HotSpot service at these locations at least through the end of the day on September 30. The situation will be re-evaluated at that time to determine if the free service will continue. This free offer for Houston, Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, College Station, Del Rio Galveston, McAllen, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama is for Wi-Fi service only, not T-Mobile voice services.
* All users should visit www.t-mobile.com/hotspot to view T-Mobile HotSpot terms and conditions and security policy. Service requires a Wi-Fi enabled laptop computer or PDA.
Lindsay Morio
T-Mobile USA Media Relations
425-383-4002
About T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG. By the end of the first quarter of 2010, approximately 150 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group - 33.7 million by T-Mobile USA - all via a common technology platform based on GSM and UMTS, the world's most widely used digital wireless standards. T-Mobile USA's innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality. For more information, please visit http://www.T-Mobile.com. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG.