AT&T has been working to gain access to Sanibel Island – which was cut off from the mainland – to begin our restoration efforts there. For this, our FirstNet team loaded a portable cell site onto one of the newest members of our disaster recovery fleet, the amphibious vehicle (link to photos here) which is currently navigating to the island.
In the past 24 hours we have made significant progress in gaining access, assessing, and restoring service to areas impacted by Hurricane Ian:
- We have more than 180 crews focused on the hardest hit areas to keep wireless communications running so first responders, emergency personnel and others can stay connected – and more than half of our impacted cell sites in Florida have already been restored.
- We began providing other carriers’ customers the ability to roam on our networks. As a result, customers will automatically be connected to our network if their carrier’s network is not available.
- The FirstNet team continues to support public safety and FirstNet subscribers by deploying full-scale communications solutions. Our fleet of SatCOLTs (Satellite Cell on Light Trucks) are rolling out to DeSoto, Hardee, Lee and Sarasota counties. We have sites on-air already in Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Sarasota, and Lee counties. Also in the dozens of requests, FirstNet cell sites were restored in Hendry, Lee and Orange counties.
Update:
We have made significant progress in the last 24 hours. Our teams are quickly and safely gaining access, assessing damage and restoring service to areas impacted by Hurricane Ian. There are more than 180 crews dispatched focused on the hardest hit areas to keep wireless communications running so first responders, emergency personnel and others can stay connected during rescue and recovery efforts. We have made significant progress in storm impacted areas, where more than a half of our impacted cell sites have been restored.
Additionally, yesterday afternoon we began providing other carriers’ customers the ability to roam on our networks, even if their carrier’s service isn’t available after the storm. As a result, customers will automatically be connected to our network if their carrier’s network is not available.
The FirstNet team continues to support public safety and FirstNet subscribers by deploying full-scale communications solutions. The FirstNet fleet of SatCOLTs (Satellite Cell on Light Trucks) are rolling out to DeSoto, Hardee, Lee and Sarasota counties. Sites are already on-air in Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota counties. Also in the dozens of requests, FirstNet cell sites were restored in Hendry, Lee and Orange counties.
Working in close consultation with state officials in Florida, we are working to gain access to Sanibel Island to begin to restore communications there. Our FirstNet team loaded a portable cell site onto one of the newest members of our disaster recovery fleet, the amphibious vehicle
