AT&T and T-Mobile have struck up an agreement to share their networks in the New York and New Jersey area. They will enable roaming to mutual customers to share network capacity, so that those having trouble getting a cell signal may have a better chance.
The carriers said that customers can carry on using their devices as per normal, with voice and data traffic going over whichever network is most operational in their area. Since both carriers are GSM-based, sharing should be seamless for users.
Hurricane Sandy has caused a widespread power blackout in cities on the East Coast, and carriers have suffered infrastructure damage in its wake. In addition, it led to Google’s last-minute cancelation of its anticipated Monday event.
Today’s full press release can be found after the break.
AT&T and T-Mobile Open Networks to Customers of Both Carriers in New York and New Jersey
Dallas and Bellevue, Wash. — October 31, 2012 — 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.