Ida Southeast

September 10, 2021, 5:15 p.m. CDT

We continue to make progress on wireline restoration. Of the wireline customers where we know service was impaired, more than 90% have had their service restored. While equipment that serves a neighborhood can be powered and online, we may not be aware of specific in-home service impairment until customers return to their homes and commercial power is restored. In addition, disruptions to commercial power can affect service for our customers even once our repairs are made.

Our wireless network continues to operate normally in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. As our recovery and cleanup work continues, we ask the community to be mindful that lines on the ground are providing critical connections. Do not cut any lines on the ground and do not disrupt equipment – whether generators or other infrastructure. 

We remain committed to keeping our customers, their families and the public safety community connected. Over the course of the storm and through recovery, we have responded to more than 80 requests from first responder agencies and currently have 19 on-air solutions assisting them in their recovery efforts.

September 9, 2021, 2:20 p.m. CDT

We continue to work around the clock to restore service for our wireline customers in Louisiana. Of the wireline customers where we know service was impaired, more than 86% have had their service restored. While equipment that serves a neighborhood can be powered and online, we may not be aware of specific in-home service impairment until customers return to their homes and commercial power is restored.  In addition, disruptions to commercial power can affect service for our customers even once repairs are made.

Our wireless network continues to improve as our crews optimize the facilities. Today, the FCC reported 108 cell sites out of service in Louisiana, of those, only 8 AT&T sites are out of service. Service impacts can still occur as our lines are sometimes accidentally cut during debris clean up. 

We have deployed charging stations across the community to support those who have been displaced or remain without power.

Customers experiencing issues with their AT&T service can reach us at att.com, on the myAT&T app or over the phone. Most customers who call us also have the option to receive a call back at their personal convenience.  Customers looking to reach us via phone can contact us 24/7 at 800.331.0500 for wireless support or at 800.288.2020 for Internet support. In addition, our retail stores are re-opened and serving customers, you can see hours and locations at www.att.com/stores/louisiana.

September 8, 2021, 8:45 a.m. CDT

Our wireless network in Louisiana is operating normally. Yesterday, the FCC reported 127 cell sites out of service, of those, only 1 AT&T site is out of service and it’s because it is structurally damaged. In its place, we have brought in mobile cell sites to serve that area until repairs are completed. Service impacts can still occur as our lines are sometimes accidentally cut during debris clean up.  

All of our wireline central offices and network hubs are working at this time, although some locations are running on backup power. Most of the damage to our wireline equipment has been to lines that run from central locations to people’s homes and businesses. We have brought in additional technicians from out of state to bolster our local workforce and make repairs.

We have made significant progress in restoring lines that run to homes and businesses, but there is much more work to be done. While equipment that serves a neighborhood can be powered and online, we may not be aware of specific in-home service impairment until customers return to their homes and commercial power is restored. In addition, disruptions to commercial power can affect service for our customers even once repairs are made.

As our recovery and cleanup work continues, we ask the community to be mindful that lines on the ground are providing critical connections. Do not cut any lines on the ground and do not disrupt equipment – whether generators or other infrastructure. We are in communication with the power companies to coordinate our recovery efforts. Lack of commercial power continues to be a challenge for our recovery and customers. 

Our teams will continue to work around the clock until all service is restored. 

September 6, 2021, 6:00 p.m. CDT

Our wireless network is operating normally in Louisiana. We have one of the industry’s largest and most advanced disaster response programs to help keep wireless communications running during times of disaster.

We continue to make progress with our wireline restoration efforts in areas impacted by Hurricane Ida. All of our wireline facilities remain online, although some continue to run on backup power. We continue to maintain and refuel generators until commercial power is restored. 

We’ve placed additional charging stations for the community, including locations in Chauvin (Marty J’s Truckstop), Kenner (Woodward Gymnasium) and Napoleonville (Assumption Parish Community Center).

We understand how important it is for our customers, their families and first responders connected. We will continue to work around the clock and provide updates until all service is restored. 

September 5, 2021, 5:00 p.m. CDT

Our wireless network in Louisiana continues to operate at more than 99 percent of normal. We have also made significant progress in restoring wireline service. Our wireless network in both Alabama and Mississippi continue to operate normally. 

FirstNet One remains deployed in Raceland, LA. This aerostat blimp functions as an LTE tower in the sky to support first responders and the extended public safety community by providing up to 100 square miles of coverage in the area. To aid in these recovery efforts, we have a total of 21 on-air mobile cell site solutions in areas impacted by the storm.  

We continue to refuel more than 200 generators at our facilities with more than 100 crews working 24/7 to restore service in areas impacted by Hurricane Ida. We understand how important it is to stay connected and will continue to work around the clock and provide updates until all service is restored. 

Charging stations are currently available for the community, with plans to place more in impacted areas.  In New Orleans, we have stations at the Treme Recreation Center, Rosenwald Recreation Center and Arthur Monday Service Center.  

September 4, 2021, 5:00 p.m. CDT

We continue to see improvements with our wireless network in Louisiana, which is currently operating at more than 99 percent of normal. This includes significant progress in restoring service to the number of cell sites that have been impacted by Hurricane Ida. Our wireless network in both Alabama and Mississippi continue to operate normally.

Today, we launched FirstNet One in Raceland, LA. This aerostat blimp functions as an LTE tower in the sky to support first responders and the extended public safety community by providing 100 square miles of coverage in the area. To aid in these recovery efforts, we have a total of 24 on-air mobile cell site solutions in areas impacted by the storm. 

We continue to refuel more than 200 generators at our facilities with more than 100 crews working 24/7 to restore service in areas impacted by Hurricane Ida. We understand how important it is to stay connected and will continue to work around the clock and provide updates until all service is restored. 

Charging stations are currently available for the community, with plans to place more in impacted areas.  In New Orleans, we have stations at the Treme Recreation Center, Rosenwald Recreation Center and Arthur Monday Service Center.  

September 3, 2021, 6:20 p.m. CDT

Our wireless network in Louisiana currently operating at more than 98 percent of normal. We continue to maintain and refuel more than 200 generators currently providing power to equipment there. Our wireless network in both Alabama and Mississippi are operating normally. More than 70 crews are continuing to work across Louisiana to keep our customers, their families and first responders connected.

We have deployed a FirstNet Communications Vehicle to a heavily impacted area in Louisiana to provide an extra level of support. In addition to providing LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, this CV offers an air-conditioned command space for first responder personnel and is equipped with multiple monitors, charging stations, a television and a large exterior screen and speakers that can be used for briefings.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, we are also preparing to launch FirstNet One, an aerostat blimp that functions as an LTE tower in the sky to support first responders and the extended public safety community in the area. FirstNet One will launch in Raceland, an area that includes a major hospital, a main roadway corridor to the Grand Isle community and is serving as a staging area for mutual-aid support.

So far, public safety – spanning federal, state and local agencies – have made nearly 60 FirstNet emergency support requests for Ida.

We are continuing to conduct daily aerial site inspections to survey any potential damage to infrastructure. As our recovery and cleanup work continues, we ask the community to be mindful that lines on the ground are providing critical connections. Do not cut any lines on the ground and do not disrupt equipment – whether generators or other infrastructure.

Our teams and FirstNet liaisons continue to be in contact with federal, tribal, state and local officials on our deployment efforts to support public safety and the communities in impacted areas.

September 2, 2021, 3:20 p.m. CDT

We continue to see improvements in our wireless network in Louisiana as it is currently operating at more than 96 percent of normal. We have 22 on-air mobile cell site solutions supporting customers and first responders in impacted areas. Our wireless network in both Alabama and Mississippi continue to operate normally. Hundreds of crews are working across the state and other storm areas making repairs to keep our customers, their families and first responders connected. This includes technicians from out-of-state that are aiding in our restoration efforts.

We are continuing to conduct daily aerial site inspections to survey any potential damage to infrastructure. As our recovery and cleanup work continues, we ask the community to be mindful that lines on the ground are providing critical connections. Do not cut any lines on the ground and do not disrupt equipment – whether generators or other infrastructure.

We have numerous charging stations currently available for the community.  In New Orleans, we have stations at the Treme Recreation Center, Rosenwald Recreation Center and Arthur Monday Service Center.  In Baton Rouge, we have stations at the MLK Community Center and the Jewel J. Newman Community Center – with many more being placed throughout the impacted areas this afternoon.

Our teams and FirstNet liaisons continue to be in contact with federal, tribal, state and local officials on our deployment efforts to support public safety and the communities in impacted areas.

September 1, 2021, 4:05 p.m. CDT

Our wireless network in Louisiana continues to improve and is currently operating at more than 94 percent of normal. We continue to focus on restoring service to areas that were hit hardest by the storm, including Lafourche, Tangipahoa and Terrebonne Parishes. We now have a total of 23 on-air mobile cell site solutions supporting customers and first responders.

Despite commercial power outages, all of our wireline centers remain in service as we continue to place and refuel generators. Customers in affected areas may still be experiencing wireline service interruptions due to storm damage and commercial power outages in their area. Our teams are working around the clock to repair damage as quickly as possible. Our wireline customers can visit att.com/outages to sign up for one-time service restoration text alerts for internet and TV.

Our teams are also closely monitoring Ida’s storm path in the northeast and any severe weather impacts. We are dedicated to our restoration efforts in Louisiana and will continue to work around the clock until service is restored.

August 31, 2021, 9:00 p.m. CDT

In just over 48 hours since Hurricane Ida’s landfall, our wireless network in Louisiana is currently operating at more than 90 percent of normal. In addition, our wireless network in both Alabama and Mississippi is operating normally. 

We now have 16 mobile satellite cell towers on air with additional assets on the way to aid in the recovery efforts. 

We understand how important it is to stay connected and will continue to work around the clock until all service is restored. We will provide an additional network status update tomorrow morning.

August 31, 2021, 9:30 a.m. CDT

We continue to make progress with our recovery and restoration efforts in areas impacted by Hurricane Ida. As of this morning, our wireless network in Louisiana is operating at more than 85 percent of normal. In addition, our wireless network in Alabama is operating normally and Mississippi is experiencing minimal impacts to wireless service. We will continue to make repairs as quickly and safely as possible in order to keep our customers connected.

Our wireline teams continue to work to address storm damage to our infrastructure in the storm area. All of our wireline facilities are online, although many are running on backup power at this time. We are deploying additional generators and refueling them as needed.

To aid in the recovery efforts, we have 13 mobile satellite cell towers on air and have additional assets on the way to areas impacted by the storm. 

August 30, 2021, 4:30 p.m. CDT

We’ve made significant progress with restoration efforts  and as of this afternoon more than 82 percent of our wireless network in Louisiana is operating normally. Our teams have been able to navigate storm damage to gain access to our network locations and we continue to deploy additional resources to assist with the recovery. We have additional generators in the region and are deploying them as needed. Commercial power may not be restored soon, and we are prepared to maintain and refuel generators until commercial power is restored. 

We appreciate Governor John Bel Edwards’ Homeland Security team and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s ongoing help in facilitating our employees getting through to our locations that need to be restored.

We have seven mobile satellite cell towers on air, will deploy 12 additional ones later today and have more of them en-route to the impacted areas. 

Our wireless network in Mississippi has seen minimal impact and our network in Alabama is operating normally. 

We know our customers depend on us for their connection to what is important in their lives. Our employees are working 24/7 and we are using all the resources at our disposal to restore service in areas impacted by Hurricane Ida. We will provide additional updates as the recovery continues. 

August 30, 2021, 10:35 a.m. CDT

Hurricane Ida has caused significant impacts to our network in Louisiana from the massive power outages and storm damage. Our Louisiana wireless network is operating at 60% of normal and we have significant outages in New Orleans and Baton Rouge due to power outages, flooding and storm damage. We had key network facilities go offline overnight, and while some have already been restored, some facilities remain down and are inaccessible due to flooding and storm damage.

Our Network Disaster Recovery teams are working to gain access to these locations as soon as possible to restore services.  We are also focused on getting our customers, their families and first responders connected. We’ve already mobilized additional disaster recovery equipment in the region to assist in the recovery and will work around the clock until service is restored. We will provide additional updates here throughout the day.

Our wireless network in Alabama is operating normally and we’ve seen only a very small wireless impact in Mississippi at this time.

Our local and national recovery/response teams have a fleet of network recovery equipment in affected areas in the region, including:

• Mobile cell sites and mobile command centers like Cell on Wheels (COWs) and Cell on Light Trucks (COLTs)
• Emergency communications vehicles (ECVs)
• Flying Cell on Wings (Flying COWs)
• High water vehicles
• Amphibious all-terrain vehicles
• Drones
• A self-sufficient base camp: This is complete with sleeping tents, bathrooms, kitchen, laundry facilities, an on-site nurse and meals ready to eat (MREs).
• Hazmat equipment and supplies
• Technology and support trailers to provide infrastructure support and mobile heating ventilation and air conditioning
• Internal and external resources for initial assessment and recovery efforts