Hurricane Sandy Knocks Out Numerous Cellular Towers

Damage is still being assessed.

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Residents who live in the path of Hurricane Sandy may notice some issues with their cell phone service. 158 cell towers from Massachusetts down to Virginia were taken down by the category one storm. 25% of these towers are still down.

Unfortunately, a full assessment of the damage has not yet been done. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, released a statement on the cellular communication issues and said not to expect a quick-fix if you have little-to-no-service:

“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. The crisis is not over. We’ll continue to be intensely focused on helping with the full recovery of wired and wireless communications infrastructure.”

However, a time frame of when service would be restored was not provided.

At the present time, Verizon told CNN that 94% of its towers in the Northeast are functional. Additionally, Verizon shared a picture (Photo #2) on its Twitter account of the damage caused by Sandy at its Lower Manhattan headquarters. Obviously not suitable working conditions. 

In the same report, AT&T said the “vast majority of our cell sites in the Northeast are online and working.” Sprint however is still checking how hard Sandy hit its towers. 

Have you noticed any issues making calls or sending text messages since the storm?

[via CNN]

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