--Restoration of electricity to help wireless coverage
--Power crucial as generators, fuel become limited
--Cell site network connections may still be issue for some
areas
By Thomas Gryta
Although mass wireless outages continue, the expected
restoration of power to some areas of the New York region in coming
days should give a boost to cellular carriers as they scramble to
provide service.
Power isn't always the sole reason for a service disruption, but
it is crucial to the operation of a cellular network, which is a
collection of individual sites that connect wireless devices to a
core, wired network.
Con Edison hopes to have power restored to most of Manhattan by
midnight on Friday and said Thursday that the "vast majority" of
customers will have power by next weekend. The New Jersey power
companies also expect to have service back to the majority of their
customers by next weekend.
"It's a big deal because even though every site has a power
backup, usually battery or gas generator, nothing lasts forever,"
Gartner analyst Phillip Redman said. He estimates that carriers
usually plan for backup power to last three to five days.
While generators can last longer if there is fuel available, it
isn't always easy to get generators to sites in urban area were
regulations and space can pose challenges. Deutsche Telekom AG's
(DTE.XE DTEGY) T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) have said that
efforts to get mobile generators to sites in Manhattan have been
complicated by regulations covering noise and fire risks posed by
the machines.
As Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and the Federal
Communications Commission have warned, access to fuel for
generators that are in place is becoming a growing issue, something
that power restoration would help ease.
As the lights come on for some, many in New York and New Jersey
will likely remain without power and could struggle to find
cellular service. AT&T Inc. (T) continues to have widespread
outages in the region, according to reports from customers.
Power will help the situation, but some sites are also down
because they have no connection to the core network or because
switching centers aren't functioning. In other areas, including
parts of New Jersey, the carriers said that aren't yet sure of the
situation for their equipment.
Sprint spokesman John Taylor said the network performance will
improve as power is restored to the region, but the degree of
improvement is difficult to gauge because carriers may find there
are other problems at the sites when power is flowing. Those could
include problems connecting to the main network or having antennas
that need repositioning.
"Even with power coming on, I think service will be intermittent
for the next week in the N.J. and N.Y. metro areas," Mr. Redman
said.
The carriers report that service is getting better. Verizon
Wireless said Friday that 97.2% of its cell sites in the impacted
area of Hurricane Sandy working, a figure that has crept up from
94% shortly after the storm.
"Our coverage in most areas is approaching pre-storm status,"
the company said in a statement. It said areas such as Lower
Manhattan have "good" coverage but it hasn't yet returned to
normal.
AT&T Inc. said that 80% of its wireless network in New York
City was functioning as of Thursday afternoon. The company has
signed a roaming agreement with T-Mobile in New York and New
Jersey.
T-Mobile said its network is about 85% operational in New York
City, including about 80% in Staten Island.
Sprint, which has said it is dependent on the landline
connections of other carriers, has about 75% of its network working
in New York.
In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Sprint's network is
more than 80% operational, while it exceeds 90% in Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Write to Thomas Gryta at thomas.gryta@dowjones.com
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