AT&T and T-Mobile Sharing Network Bandwith to Help After Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy might finally be clearing up, but the destruction left in her wake is just now starting to be assessed. Millions are without power at this moment and everyone is trying to check to make sure their loved ones are OK. Sandy didn’t ease up on our precious cell towers, so to shoulder the load of all those calls, AT&T and T-Mobile have announced that they are partnering up to help the people affected in the New York and New Jersey area.

T-Mo and AT&T have reached an agreement to allow customers from the other network to roam on theirs without interruption. If you place a call, your phone will connect to whichever network is working better in that area, be it AT&T or T-Mobile. It’s a little bit of good faith on both the networks’ parts to help people that are recovering from the Hurricane. It also might be a little bit of a nod to the FCC letting them know that these two networks can work well enough together, maybe even well enough to merge.

AT&T and T-Mobile Open Networks to Customers of Both Carriers in New York and New Jersey

DALLAS & BELLEVUE, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In the wake of destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, AT&T and T-Mobile are taking extraordinary measures to make sure our customers can stay in touch.

AT&T and T-Mobile have entered into an agreement to enable roaming on their networks to customers of both companies in the heavily impacted areas and where capacity is available and for subscribers with a compatible device.

AT&T and T-Mobile customers will be able to place calls just as they normally would, but their calls will be carried by whichever network is most operational in their area. This will be seamless for AT&T and T-Mobile customers with no change to their current rate plans or service agreements even if the phone indicates the device is attached to the other carrier’s network.

T-Mobile and AT&T both utilize network technology based on GSM and UMTS standards, which allows for this sharing of voice and data traffic.

Via: Engadget