Hurricane Helene swamped the southeastern U.S. after making landfall on Sept. 26 causing major damage and flash floods
The FCC has documented outages across six states
Operators are working to pick up the pieces of their wireless and wireline networks, but are still trying to gain access to some areas and waiting for power restoration in others
More than a million residents in the southeastern U.S. started the week without fixed broadband and plenty more without cell phone service after Hurricane Helene brought never-before-seen levels of flooding to the valleys of Appalachia.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documented outages across six states, though western North Carolina and eastern Georgia are among the hardest hit.
As of Sunday, an estimated 1,004,610 subscribers were without wireline broadband service, with South Carolina and Georgia both reporting more than 300,000 affected customers each and North Carolina 200,000. While high, the total figure was actually down from a high of 1,199,087 on September 28. By Monday, the FCC said the number of subscribers without cell service decreased to 886,139.
Additionally, more than 2,500 cell sites remained out of commission on Monday due to the storm, with the vast majority of these in Georgia (787), North Carolina (784) and South Carolina (694). This marked an improvement from Sunday, when more than 3,400 cell sites were offline, including 1,034 in North Carolina, 952 in South Carolina and 931 in Georgia.
Fierce reached out to operators to learn more about the extent of the damage and how long recovery efforts are expected to take. Here’s what they told us:
Verizon
Verizon said its engineers continue to make progress in network restoration with Florida, Upstate South Carolina and areas of East Georgia seeing a return to service, but a substantial amount of work remains in the hardest hit areas, like Asheville, North Carolina.
The fiber infrastructure needed to carry data traffic from cell sites to the core command centers of the network was damaged in some areas with a number of cuts from the high winds, debris and flooding.
“With many areas throughout the region suffering extensive power failures, we continue to rely on generator power until commercial power is restored,” said a Verizon spokesperson. “Massive refueling operations continue to ensure those sites without commercial power remain in service for Verizon customers and first responders.”
The company also suffered the collapse of several cell towers within the footprint.
Verizon has deployed more than 70 temporary connectivity assets, including a cell-enabled tethered drone, cells on wheels and satellite trailer emitting equipment. However, the spokesperson said, “Customers may experience slower speeds and capacity constraints until fiber connections can be restored, so we recommend using text and call and to avoid data-heavy applications.”
Verizon has also deployed three Wireless Emergency Command Centers, with two stationed in Asheville and one in Chuckey, Tennessee. Another is expected in Augusta, Georgia on Tuesday. These facilities are open to the public so they can power their devices and contact friends and family over the Verizon network.
Brightspeed
Brightspeed, whose footprint includes many states in the South and along the Atlantic seaboard, said that downed trees, flooded communities, washed-out roadways and bridges significantly impacted its network as well as local power companies.
However, a company spokesperson said, “Nearly all of our Brightspeed Fiber customers who experienced service interruptions due to Helene are back online. Additionally, two thirds of our DSL customers impacted by storm damage now have service. Nearly 90% of our Ethernet circuits that were damaged or out of service are now operational.”
Unfortunately, two roadside cabinets in Tennessee were washed away by the storm. But Brightspeed had built redundancies into its network and is working to ensure services are restored.
The company does not have an estimate for the cost of damage or the repairs. It’s still focused on restoring services. It not only has its own local teams on the ground repairing cut lines, but it has also engaged third-party partners and its material suppliers to help in its efforts. Additionally, it has deployed Brightspeed teams from neighboring states. Often its crews are waiting for or even working together with the local power company crews.
Carolina West Wireless
Headquartered in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, regional operator Carolina West's service area is in the thick of Helene's destructive path. Chief Customer Officer Jude O’Sullivan told Fierce that its "primary challenge is gaining access to certain sites. Many of these locations are currently unreachable due to widespread road damage caused by unprecedented flooding, while others are blocked by debris. This is an hour-by-hour restoration operation, and we don’t yet have a full assessment of the damage."
O'Sullivan explained that in order to "restore full service, our sites require both power and backhaul. However, our backhaul partners and power companies face the same challenges we do which is safely accessing the hardest-hit areas."
While the company is working with authorities to gain priority access to fuel for generators and clearance for site repairs, O'Sullivan noted "Some of the impacted areas have been devastated, and at this point, we simply don't know when or if restoration will be possible."
In the meantime, Carolina Wireless has activated the ability for customers to roam on any available network, and has made Wi-Fi and charging stations available in its retail locations that are operational.
Charter Communications
Like Verizon and Brightspeed, a Charter representative told Fierce that it is engaged in restoration efforts across the areas impacted by Helene. The rep didn’t provide details about the damage, but noted “as of yesterday, there were some impacted areas that were still inaccessible.”
“As soon as an area is deemed safe and power has returned, Spectrum technicians are working to restore service as quickly as possible,” the rep stated.
In the meantime, Charter has opened to the public nearly 90,000 Spectrum out-of-home Wi-Fi access points across Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina and bordering areas.
AT&T
An AT&T spokesperson said, “The unprecedented destruction and flooding have mobilized our Emergency Operations Center to provide round-the-clock support to all AT&T teams, ensuring they have the resources they need to restore vital connectivity to the affected areas.”
Since AT&T is also the operator of the nation’s FirstNet network, the company said its teams are also in continuous coordination with federal, state and local authorities. “We continue to prioritize public safety's communications needs with FirstNet, the nation's public safety network,” said the spokesperson. The FirstNet Response Operations Group is on the ground, having responded to more than 100 requests to support emergency communications.
“While the recovery process will be lengthy in some areas, we are prioritizing areas we can access immediately to restore connectivity as quickly as possible,” said the spokesperson. “However, severely damaged areas will require additional time for repairs.”
WideOpenWest (WOW!)
The operator recently launched greenfield markets in Florida and South Carolina but seems to have made it through the storm relatively unscathed.
A company representative told Fierce "Using generators and backup batteries, WOW!’s network was up throughout the storm continuing to provide connectivity to our customers. While Hurricane Helene did not cause damage to the WOW! network, there remain widespread commercial power outages in two of WOW!’s markets - Augusta, Georgia and Greenville County, South Carolina - and partial power outages in Pinellas County, Florida, impacting customer access to WOW! services."
The rep added "WOW! service is coming back as commercial power is restored in Augusta, Greenville County, and Pinellas in areas where there were power outages. As local utilities work to untangle their lines and reset poles, we have experienced isolated fiber cuts. Our crews are responding and repairing those cuts as quickly as possible."
As the network comes back online with power supply, the rep advised customers to reboot their modems to properly restore connectivity.
T-Mobile
The research group Opensignal said outages in the Asheville, North Carolina, metro area hit their peak on Saturday, September 28, and T-Mobile users were hit the hardest with 15% of those in the area completely out of service at the height of the outages.
T-Mobile told Fierce Network that as of September 29 its crews in North Carolina and South Carolina “have overcome extremely challenging conditions and limited site access to restore 132 sites and position 149 portable generators in the last 24 hours.”
But the carrier says its network is completely or nearly restored in Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania and most of Florida. However, it’s still recovering sites in Jacksonville to Valdosta, Florida and in Savannah and Augusta, Georgia as well as some locations in Tennessee and West Virginia.
Optimum
Optimum said both its wired and wireless networks in North Carolina were damaged by the hurricane. In addition, its networks in West Virginia were also impacted.
The company operates broadband communications, video, and home phone services and wireless services through its Optimum Mobile product, which leverages T-Mobile’s 5G network.
An Optimum spokesperson said, “The vast majority of our wireline customers are still experiencing impacts.”
She added, “We continue to assess the North Carolina region and are working closely with the power companies. Once power is restored, we'll quickly get our services back online. Additionally, many areas remain inaccessible due to the mountainous terrain and devastation, such as around the Lake Lure dam.”
In Hendersonville, North Carolina, Optimum has restored services with a focus on essential facilities like hospitals, shelters, and emergency services. The company has deployed two Wi-Fi trailers in the city where residents can access free Wi-Fi and charge their devices. Additionally, the team has set up Internet and TV services for a makeshift emergency shelter open to community members in Hendersonville.
This story will be updated as more detail becomes available.
Update 10/2/2024 5:15 PM ET: This story has been updated to add details from Optimum.
Update 10/2/2024 10:30 AM ET: This story has been updated to add details from Carolina Wireless and T-Mobile.
Update 10/1/2024 8:40 am ET: This story has been updated to add details from Charter Communications.