A major severe weather outbreak is moving across parts of the Midwest and Plains, with the threat of tornadoes, damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding affecting millions of people. T-Mobile says the situation has already left hundreds of thousands without power in some areas, and the carrier says it is tracking conditions closely as the storms continue.
The Un-carrier shared that they are coordinating with public safety agencies, emergency management partners and community organizations while also mobilizing resources to help customers, communities and first responders stay connected.
T-Mobile says its network teams are using automated tools, including its Self-Organizing Network technology, to adjust to changing conditions in real time. The company also says it has backup power resources such as generators and deployable network assets that can be moved into affected areas if needed.
T-Mobile is also reminding customers to take simple steps before bad weather hits. That includes charging phones, tablets, smart watches and battery packs, saving emergency contacts, turning on Wireless Emergency Alerts and Wi-Fi Calling, checking whether satellite connectivity is supported on their device, reviewing family emergency plans and keeping up with local forecasts.
During an emergency, the company says people should follow instructions from local officials, use text messages when possible because they use less bandwidth than voice calls, switch to Wi-Fi Calling if it’s available, conserve battery life during long outages and check on neighbors, friends and family members who may need help.