Thousands of people were without wireless service Monday afternoon in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, due to the tremendous damage caused by Hurricane Ida.
AT&T said late Monday afternoon its Louisiana wireless network was operating “at 82% of normal” with “significant outages”. The company blamed the problems on power outages, flooding and storm damage generated by the powerful hurricane.
Key network facilities were knocked out Sunday night. AT&T said some facilities are back in operation and running off of generators. Because it may be weeks before power can be restored to some area, the company said it was preparing to maintain and refuel generators until electric service is entirely restored.
T-Mobile said its network in Louisiana and Alabama is about 70% operational after Ida. Customers in areas were reporting intermittent disruptions in voice, text and data service.
Verizon said sites are out of service in the areas hardest hit by storm damage. Other areas have cell sites running off of backup generators and batteries. That’s allowing local customers and first responders to have wireless service, the company said.