T-Mobile Takes Action to Prepare for Hurricane Earl

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--T-Mobile USA, Inc. is preparing for the potential impact of Hurricane Earl, with wireless network preparations underway throughout the Eastern Seaboard, especially from the Carolinas and north to the Canadian border. The company is fully mobilizing all necessary resources to restore service to its customers and emergency first-responders if its cell sites are affected by the storm.

The T-Mobile Incident Command Team stands ready throughout the Eastern U.S., with local Command Centers established in the following areas: Charlotte, N.C.; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.; Parsippany, N.J.; Long Island, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; and Boston, Mass. In addition, T-Mobile has a National Response team monitoring the event, with backup support from Snoqualmie, Wash. T-Mobile technicians and engineers will be mobilized to support and assist any network restoration that is needed as soon as post-hurricane conditions permit. Finally, the company’s Network Operation Centers (NOCs) will also be responsible for managing network traffic during this event, and the company has redundant support in place for each NOC.

T-Mobile is taking the following additional steps to prepare the company’s network for the storm:

In the event of widespread power outages, T-Mobile has access to additional fuel to supply our generators and company repair and transport vehicles, and for other emergency circumstances.
Backup generators and fuel tanks for regional network switch operations are in place, have been tested, and fuel has been topped off.
To further supplement the fixed and portable back-up generators, T-Mobile currently has in place at its cell sites throughout the region dozens more portable generators, ready to be transported to impacted areas.
Microwave radio equipment has been trucked into the region to facilitate data communication from the cell sites to T-Mobile's network switches, as backup, in the event T1 fixed-line service fails.
T-Mobile has several Cells-On-Wheels (COWs) pre-staged in neighboring markets to move in and provide additional wireless communications capacity in the hardest-hit areas.
T-Mobile will monitor evacuation efforts and routes, and will take steps to increase wireless capacity in those areas as customers move inland.
The company also is coordinating recovery efforts with local, state and national officials.

T-Mobile is also preparing for storms that are expected after Earl, including Fiona and Gaston.

T-Mobile Customer Tips

In order to better facilitate communication between families and loved ones, and to alleviate anticipated network congestion before, during and after any storm, T-Mobile recommends its customers follow these important tips:

Use text messaging to communicate instead of voice calls. Text messaging has a greater success rate in getting through the network during high-usage periods versus voice calls.
Keep your voice calls short in duration.
Make sure your phone is fully charged prior to the storm. Consider obtaining a vehicle charger in the event of power loss.
For T-Mobile Customer Care assistance, please visit http://my.t-mobile.com, call 611 from your T-Mobile handset, or dial 1-800-937-8997.

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 second quarter of 2010, more than 130 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group — 33.6 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.