Americans are bracing for major power outages as Hurricane Debby speeds up the East Coast this week.
The storm, labeled as a Category 1 storm, made landfall along the Gulf Coast on Monday, leaving nearly 200,000 residents in Florida and Georgia without power.
While downed power lines typically knock users offline, major wireless carriers, including Verizon, AT&T and Spectrum, have options to users get back on the internet.
The best method could be a smartphone's hotspot, which can be used to transmit WiFi to other connected devices, but the companies have take extra precautions in the event the East Coast is hit harder than predicted.
Hurricane Debby has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, but it can still bring heavy rain and sustained wind speeds of up to 73 miles per hour, which is expected to reach eastern North Carolina and Virginia and last into Thursday night.
Wind gusts that exceed 40 miles per hour can cause serious flooding, down trees and trigger power outages - but these four cellular companies have taken steps to keep you online.
Verizon Customers
Verizon customers who want to get ahead of the game can purchase a hotspot device for a one-time payment of $79.99 or $2.22 per month for 36 months, which will provide unlimited WiFi.
The company’s cell sites have generators and backup batteries that will allow the Orbic Speed Mobile Hotspot to provide a connection even after the major power lines to your home go out.
Phones with existing hotspots can also be used to connect tablets and laptops to the web as long as Verizon’s cell sites are still working.
AT&T Customers
Similarly to Verizon, AT&T customers can also use their wireless device or hotspot to connect to the internet as long as the company’s regional networks are still functioning.
AT&T prepares its networks by first testing the high-capacity backup batteries at its cell sites and distributing generators to areas that might be in danger of losing power so they can be immediately activated if the system fails.
In 2018, the company went so far as to deploy charging trucks that carried WiFi connectivity to the Raleigh area when Hurricane Florence hit - in addition to restoring its cell towers as the weather permitted.
Spectrum Customers
Spectrum offers customers who have Unlimited and Unlimited Plus mobile plans the option for a mobile hotspot.
Once they use five to 10 gigabytes of data, the internet speed is reduced from one gigabit per second (Gbps) to 600 kilobits per second (Kbps) for the duration of the billing cycle.
Similarly, these plans offer unlimited talk, text and data but once they reach 30 or 50 gigabytes respectively, the speeds will likewise drop to 600 Kbps.
T-Mobile Customers
T-Mobile reported that it is preparing for major storm outages by adding backup power technology like generators and batteries at its cell towers to keep data running for its nearly 60 million customers.
The company also offers 50 gigabytes of high-speed mobile and hotspot data to customers who subscribe to the Go5G Next and Go 5G Plus plans.
However, after reaching 15 gigabytes of hotspot data, the internet speeds will drop from 256 Kbps to 128 Kbps.
Customers can also purchase a rechargeable hotspot device for $198 that can be used to connect all devices including phones, laptops and tablets to the internet.
