A quarter of the cell phone towers damaged by Superstorm Sandy are still down, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission told reporters in a press call this afternoon. The affected towers lie in 158 counties across 10 states, from Massachusetts down to Virginia.
If you're in a badly-hit area with little-to-no cell service, don't expect things to get better quickly: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski noted during the call that many cell towers in areas without electricity are running on backup generators -- generators which will begin failing in the near future as batteries run dry.
Genachowski did, however, note in a release following the call that the FCC is working with "FEMA and our other federal, state, and local partners – as well as communications companies – in response efforts."
"In the days and weeks ahead, we will continue to expect the unexpected as the full picture of Hurricane Sandy’s impact on communications networks develops," he added. "The crisis is not over. We’ll continue to be intensely focused on helping with the full recovery of wired and wireless communications infrastructure.”
A Verizon representative told CNN that 94% of its cell towers in the areas hit by Sandy are running, while strongly suggesting other carriers were to blame for "dragging down the average." Meanwhile, the company shared footage of flooding at its south Manhattan offices via Twitter:
Mon. night flooding from #Sandy on the Verizon HQ ground floor, 140 West St., in Lower Manhattan. @verizonsupporttwitpic.com/b8tvov— Verizon (@Verizon) October 30, 2012
An ATT spokesperson told the same reporter that the "vast majority of our cell sites in the Northeast are online and working," while Sprint is still checking on the damage. Many local Internet and cell phone users have been reporting inoperative or slow service since the storm struck:
Are others on the east coast experiencing slow/inconsistent internet service? Checked out a few different ISPs and all are slow. Sandy?— Nate Bessa (@natebessa) October 31, 2012
#Sandy the aftermath. No power, no Internet. Will be slow replying to emails. Hope everyone is well.— Peter Weijmarshausen (@weijmarshausen) October 31, 2012
my internet is so slow its like sandy is teasing me about my power like why sandy I'm a good person— Kira Clutter (@KiraClutter) October 29, 2012
Genachowski offered no estimate for when service would be restored.
"This was, and remains, a devastating storm, and the FCC continues to assess and respond to the impact of Hurricane Sandy on our nation’s communications infrastructure," he said. "Overall, the condition of our communications networks is improving, but serious outages remain, particularly in New York, New Jersey, and other hard-hit areas."
Are your telecoms being affected by Sandy? Share your story in the comments.
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