Bellevue, Wash. — Sep. 7, 2005
T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the company has restored its wireless coverage in the Gulf Coast areas hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina to either normal service levels or near normal service levels. T-Mobile's Disaster Recovery Team, working around the clock following Katrina's devastation, has repaired or restored service to many of its existing cell sites in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama damaged by the hurricane.
T-Mobile first reported Saturday it restored service at several downtown New Orleans wireless transmitters, including a high-capacity cell site running on generator power on the Crowne Plaza Hotel Astor on Canal Street.
Service is now available in much of the New Orleans downtown corridor - including the French Quarter, Convention Center and the Superdome - as well as additional service at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
As of Wednesday, T-Mobile said it has significant wireless coverage across Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany Parishes, and North Shore Communities. More specifically, T-Mobile now has wireless service in Abita Springs, Algiers, Almedia, Avondale, Boutte, Bridge City, Covington, Denham, Springs, Destrehan, downtown New Orleans, Elmwood, Greenville, Hammond, Harahan, Kenner, Laplace, Mandeville, Marrero, Metairie, New Sarpy, Ponchatoula, River Ridge, Slidell, St. Rose, Storyville and Westwego.
T-Mobile has more than 150 cell sites on air in Louisiana.
In addition to providing widespread service for New Orleans Hurricane survivors to stay connected with loved ones, T-Mobile is supporting the recovery efforts by providing T-Mobile phones and service to the U.S. National Guard, Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, Orleans Parish Police, U.S. Border Patrol and Harbor Police
In other areas of the Gulf Coast region, T-Mobile said it's operating at normal coverage levels in Mobile, Gulf Shores and Daphne, Ala.
T-Mobile market coverage in Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs and Hattiesburg Miss. is quickly improving and nearing normal coverage levels. T-Mobile's Disaster Recovery Team continues to quickly restore service to areas not operating at full network coverage, which includes bringing in portable microwave solutions to cell sites not yet served by local telecom carriers' fixed T1 lines.
In an effort to keep as many people connected as possible, T-Mobile is enabling virtually all users of GSM/GPRS phones, whether or not they are T-Mobile subscribers, roaming access to the network in the area.
T-Mobile expects heavy call volumes and some call congestion to continue in the Gulf Coast area due to high demand for service by T-Mobile customers and those roaming from other GSM carriers. To ensure as many people have wireless access as possible, T-Mobile asks all GSM users to keep non-emergency calls to a minimum, and consider sending text messages or instant messages to connect with family or loved ones.
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.