Not enough backup power: AT&T and T-Mobile suffer big blackouts in Louisiana

AT&T said today that only 60% of its network in Louisiana is operating as Hurricane Ida hits the state. T-Mobile reports similarly extensive outages, while Verizon says it has minimized outages with backup generators. AT&T and T-Mobile both said they have deployed additional generators, but carriers apparently haven’t deployed enough to handle the widespread power outages.

“Our wireless network in Louisiana is operating at 60% of normal and we have major outages in New Orleans and Baton Rouge due to power outages, flooding and storm damage,” said AT&T in an update on the state of the network. “We took key network facilities offline overnight, and while some have already been restored, some facilities remain down and are inaccessible due to flooding and storm damage.”

AT&T said it had “mobilized additional disaster recovery equipment in the region to assist with the recovery and will work around the clock until service is restored.” AT&T said its wireless network in Alabama was functioning normally and that it “saw very little wireless impact in Mississippi.”

Update: AT&T reported at 5:30 p.m. ET, shortly after this article was published, that it had “made significant progress in restoration efforts and as of this afternoon, over 82% of our wireless network in Louisiana was functioning normally “.

T-Mobile has widespread outages

T-Mobile said today that its “network is approximately 70% operational in Louisiana and Alabama.” That percentage could be higher in Louisiana because it was hit harder by the storm, but T-Mobile did not give a percentage for each state.

“Some customers in these areas may experience intermittent impacts on voice, data and text services. The situation is still very fluid as first responders and utilities assess the damage caused by the storm,” T-Mobile said. . We’ve asked T-Mobile what part of its network is down in Louisiana, and we’ll update this article if we get a response.

Verizon says “network remains resilient”

Verizon also did not say how well its network in Louisiana was functioning normally, either on its website or when contacted by Ars. But the company said it handled the storm well in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas where AT&T is struggling.

“In downtown New Orleans and Baton Rouge, our network operations withstood the ferocity of the storm,” Verizon said in an update to its website. “We have cell sites scattered throughout these major metropolitan areas, with the majority of Verizon customers experiencing minimal service disruption due to overlapping coverage (service from nearby cell sites).”

Verizon said it has “coverage gaps” in coastal areas of Louisiana, Thibodaux, Morgan City, Houma, Hammond and the south coast of Lake Pontchartrain.

“Despite the widespread devastation, Verizon’s network remains resilient and our teams are actively assessing the situation to quickly engage in recovery efforts,” Verizon said. “As we see sites down in the worst affected areas, overlapping sites provide some coverage for residents and first responders who remain there.” Verizon said it has “back-up generators running at cell sites and switching facilities, and we are on standby to refuel the generators as needed when crews can safely exit.”

Verizon said flooding and debris make it difficult to access network equipment, which could delay repairs. “We will prioritize assistance to first responders, emergency operations centers, and search and rescue efforts,” Verizon said.

The three major wireless carriers provide unlimited calling, texting and data to customers in hardest hit areas through free and temporary upgrades.