Around 25 percent of cell sites in the area affected by Hurricane Sandy in the US are out of service, according to estimates from the FCC. This covers an area of 158 counties in 10 states from Virginia to Massachusetts. Many of the sites are running on back-up power, but this is quickly running out. Fixed-line telephone service suffered less damage, while around 25 percent of households in the affected area are without cable TV and broadband, the FCC said, according to an AFP report. Cablevision said its network was seeing "widespread" service interruptions, mainly due to loss of power. Verizon reported "serious problems" in lower Manhattan, including two switching centres out, as well as stress on its network in the greater New York metropolitan area as call volume nearly doubled on 28 October. Over 200 sites are running on back-up power, Verizon said. Other mobile operators, including AT&T, T-Mobile USA and Sprint, said they had some customers without service in the affected area, especially in lower Manhattan. However restoring service will depend in most cases on restoring power to the areas.
