AT&T Wireless Restores Service to 97% of Impacted Northeast

When the power went out one week ago, with it went much of the local cell phone coverage. AT&T Wireless was hit particularly hard, leaving customers in the lurch for days. With the exception of a few hotspots – East Houston and Essex, and beneath the Manhattan Bridge – network connection was pretty much nonexistent. The telecom behemoth then sent teams to establish charging stations around the Lower East Side mid-week; there is still one located at the Hamilton Fish park.

Now AT&T Wireless claims that it has restored service to nearly 97% of affected areas in the northeast. This is the mission statement, according to a recent email blast:

Working around the clock since Sandy’s impact, our network technicians have restored service to nearly 97% of impacted cell sites in the Northeast.

In some of the hardest hit areas in New York City, including Manhattan, 90% of our cell sites are back in service, up from 80% on Thursday. We continue pushing to restore service as power and other infrastructure issues are resolved – in Manhattan, in shore areas devastated by floodwaters and throughout the Northeast – and we will not stop until 100% of service has been restored.

In other areas of the Northeast, 100% of our AT&T retail stores have electricity and are open for business, and affected residents are welcome to charge their devices in-store.

On AT&T? Do you still have reception?