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T-Mobile Is Prepared for Hurricane Helene

TMUS | September 26, 2024

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2024 / T-Mobile:

Hurricane Helene has officially strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane ahead of making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida tomorrow night. T-Mobile has activated its emergency teams in anticipation of the severe winds up to 125 mph, 8-12 inches of rain and potentially fatal storm surge Hurricane Helene may bring across Florida, Alabama and Georgia. Here's how T-Mobile and its emergency response teams are working to ensure customers, communities, first responders and others remain connected:

Network Preparation

Our network emergency management team, local market teams and National Operations Centers are vigilantly monitoring our network's performance. T-Mobile's teams are also pre-staging a large fleet of equipment at critical and strategic locations in Florida, Alabama and Georgia for rapid deployment after Hurricane Helene passes and conditions safely allow, and have taken steps to ensure that permanent backup power resources are ready, including:

T-Mobile's Mobile Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs): Large RVs with network management and monitoring equipment
SatCOLTs and SatCOWs: Satellite cell-on-light-trucks and satellite cell-on-wheels that teams can drive to impacted areas to temporarily restore or boost service
Quick-deploy and portable VSATs: Satellite dishes called "Very Small Aperture Terminals" that can provide a layer of coverage across broad areas and quickly provide temporary wireless service to send and receive data from T-Mobile's network
Microwave solutions: Network technology that offers high throughput and low latency for better data usage
Portable Generators: Portable power solutions that can be quickly set up to power sites and help customers
Permanent Batteries and Generators: Generators and batteries permanently installed on key sites - such as cell sites, data centers and switching centers - along Hurricane Helene's path and surrounding areas have been topped up

Moreover, T-Mobile's network modernization allows local teams to swiftly and digitally fine-tune network coverage, focusing on critical areas to boost signal concentration as needed. By adjusting antennas and towers, T-Mobile can bolster connectivity for rescue operations, Incident Command Centers, shelters, reunification centers, hospitals or other essential locations.

Public Safety and First Responders

T-Mobile for Government is actively engaged with numerous federal, state and local officials and emergency management agencies across Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia including: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and each state's Emergency Operations Center.

Our team is already preparing to deploy to support requests from first responders for additional network coverage and capacity once conditions safely allow.

Agencies needing communications assistance can reach out to our 24-hour emergency hotline at 888-639-0020 or email at ERTRequests@T-Mobile.com.

Community Support

Our teams will be staged in Mississippi and Georgia with a second large fleet of equipment and assets for deployment once conditions are safe. This includes a Community Support Command Center to serve as a central hub for T-Mobile's community operations, as well as numerous heavy-duty trucks and trailers that provide Wi-Fi and device charging and are stocked with charging supplies for anyone who needs them.

Customer Concessions

While the majority of our customers are on plans with unlimited talk, text and data, for those who aren't we are offering unlimited talk, text and data for T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile and Assurance Wireless customers from tomorrow, September 26, through Wednesday, October 2, in the following counties:

Alabama: Barbour, Chambers, Henry, Houston, Lee, Randolph and Russell
Florida: Alachua, Baker, Calhoun, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor, Union and Wakulla
Georgia: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Baker, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Berrien, Bibb, Bleckley, Brantley, Brooks, Burke, Butts, Calhoun, Candler, Charlton, Chattahoochee, Clay, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crawford, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Emanuel, Glascock, Grady, Hancock, Harris, Heard, Houston, Irwin, Jasper, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Lanier, Laurens, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Miller, Mitchell, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscogee, Peach, Pierce, Pike, Pulaski, Putnam, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Seminole, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Tattnall, Taylor, Telfair, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Troup, Turner, Twiggs, Upson, Ware, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, Wilkinson and Worth

Employees and Retail Stores

We are monitoring potential impacts on our employees, retail stores and other locations. For updates on local store operations, please use our store locator to check your nearest store, as some locations may be temporarily closed or operating under modified hours in the coming days.

More Information

For more information on how T-Mobile prepares for emergencies and disasters along with steps that customers can take to prepare, please go T-Mobile's Emergency Response Resource site at: https://www.t-mobile.com/news/emergency-response.

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T-Mobile US, Inc.
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