Sprint Nextel was still working Thursday night to bring back service in areas swamped by Hurricane Sandy, particularly in New York City where the carrier said about 75% of the network is operational.
Overall, in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, Sprint’s network is more than 80% operational. The company said it has faced challenges in bringing back service, particularly in New York City and portions of the New Jersey coast, in obtaining commercial power, backhaul connections and gaining safe access to cell sites.
Impacted customers to receive waiver of late fees, overage charges, roaming and call forwarding fees, and renewal extension for prepaid services
Meanwhile, Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint said its network has been fully restored to customers in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Maine, Vermont, Ohio and Kentucky. In Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, its network is more than 90% operational.
For customers in affected areas, Sprint is waiving certain fees for services used between Oct. 29 and Nov. 28, including late fees; overage charges for voice, text and data; roaming fees; and call-forwarding fees. The waiver applies to Sprint customers in select counties in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Sprint has also reopened more than 160 of its nearly 200 retail stores that were closed because of Hurricane Sandy.
In addition, the Sprint Foundation has made a $500,000 donation to the American Red Cross to support its disaster-relief efforts in the areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy, and will match all American Red Cross donations made by Sprint employees, retirees and members of the Sprint board of directors.
