In the worst of times, we all come together…sometimes, even competitors. Former merger-wannabe-turned-sour-current-competitors AT&T and T-Mobile have struck a roaming deal in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Both carriers, which run on the same GSM and HSPA+ bands, have agreed to let customers roam on either network in New York and New Jersey freely to achieve the best voice and data service. Each carrier will handle this automatically and customers in the affected areas will not need to change anything with their current plans.
The FCC has indicated that 25% of cell service has been knocked out in 10 states due to the storm. It makes perfect sense that these two carriers did this, but it also demonstrates the shortcomings of network incompatibility. No other major U.S. carriers could do this so seamlessly as each have their own unique spectrum. It is unknown how long this deal will be in place, it will continue until services are mostly normalized.
