The worst of Hurricane Sandy is over, but the recovery effort is just getting started. There are missing people find, houses to rebuild, and services to restore. None of this is going to be easy either, so Verizon is helping out the recovery effort by doing a number of different things. For instance, the company has opened up Wireless Emergency Communication Centers on Staten Island, at Monmouth University in New Jersey, and in two locations at Toms River in New Jersey.
At the WECCs, visitors can charge their device and use the computer workstations that have been set up. Verizon will also have mobile phones available that visitors can use to get in touch with loved ones. If a Verizon store in your area is open, you can stop in for free device charging and free domestic calls. Some stores in the area affected by Hurricane Sandy may not be open yet, but Verizon assures that its opening these stores as quickly as it can.
If the Verizon stores in your area haven’t been re-opened yet, be sure to keep an eye out for Verizon’s mobile stores-on-wheels. These serve as fully-featured Verizon stores, and they’re currently set up on Staten Island; Sea Grit, New Jersey; and Howell, New Jersey. Verizon seems to be doing a pretty good job at returning service to affected areas as well, as it says that 96% of its cell sites are now operational.
All throughout Hurricane Sandy, we’ve seen carriers stepping up to make sure that customers are able to contact the people and services they need to. Just yesterday T-Mobile and AT&T said that they would open up their networks so that customers of both would have better coverage as the recovery process begins. We’ll update with more information on carriers that are assisting with the Sandy recovery effort, so keep it tuned here to Android Community for more!
Verizon Wireless continues to focus its efforts to assist customers in the regions hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy. We announced November 4th that customers in portions of New York and New Jersey will not be billed usage charges for domestic voice and text usage incurred between October 29th and November 16th 2012. No action is required by our customers to be eligible for this program.