AT&T and T-Mobile sharing networks in New York and New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy

AT&T and T-Mobile just jointly announced that they will be temporarily sharing their network in New York and New Jersey, following Hurricane Sandy. Customers will be able to connect to whichever network is working, despite which carrier they may be on. Here’s the press release:

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.

Great to see both the carriers working together in such a hardtime for some people. Stay safe readers.