Cell phones have been unreliable this week for thousands of people digging out from overwhelming damage after tornadoes swept through the region Sunday night, leaving many in the dark and without a way to communicate.
"There is a huge issue with connection and information in this area," said state Rep. Esther Helton, R-East Ridge. "It will freak you out because we are used to being connected."
By Friday afternoon, EPB had restored power to about 51,500 customers who were hit by severe weather on Sunday night. About 8,500 customers remained without power, and total restoration may take until April 21.
In the meantime, being able to communicate via cell phone is crucial as people make do in dark houses, said Chattanooga City Councilman Darrin Ledford, who has worked with Helton to coordinate efforts to improve connectivity with AT&T and Verizon.
On Friday afternoon, AT&T was setting up a satellite backup to try to get the cell tower on Standifer Gap Road working again, Ledford said.
"We want to see what that satellite link-up does to that area," he said. "That's going to help tremendously, I pray."
AT&T also set up a charging station on the parking lot of the Holly Hills pool, and both AT&T and Verizon were providing mobile charging stations at the YMCA on Shallowford Road, Ledford said.
They were also exploring the possibility of setting up mobile WiFi hotspots where people can come and get online. Social distancing requirements make that a tricky proposition, Ledford said.
"We're working on getting the governor to give us a waiver and get a mobile hot spot," he said.
Late Friday, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office was notified by Verizon Wireless personnel that all Verizon cellular service to the tornado affected areas had been restored, according to department spokesman Matt Lee.
For many in or near the affected areas, cell phone service has been reduced or non-existent since Sunday night's storm. Verizon officials said that 16 of their sites sustained damage in or around the affected areas,causing widespread cellular outages.
Earlier, Verizon spokeswoman Kate Jay said the provider's network was "100% in service in the Chattanooga area."
"While most of the fiber has been repaired and sites restored, small pockets of damage remain which is impacting a limited number of customers," Jay wrote in an email.
But Helton was still struggling Friday afternoon to get reliable service. "I have Verizon, and it's so spotty, even outside the area [where the storms hit]," she said.
The Chattanooga Fire Department relies primarily on their radio system for communications, and those channels work regardless of hits to the cell network, said Battalion Chief Rick Boatwright. But first responders also quickly learned that the Verizon network was problematic as they worked to help with storm recovery, he said.
"What we've had problems with is Verizon," he said. "AT&T has a system called FirstNet, and they got us five phones at the command post, so we've been using them."
Verizon dropped off trailers to try to boost their network, Boatwright added. Firefighters haven't been hindered by the cell network challenges, but they've had to be flexible, he said.
"We've been operating normally, you just have to go out and find a good location," he said. "You'll be taking a call and it will drop."
The Verizon network in Chattanooga also faltered in March when storms swept through Middle Tennessee, knocking out a Nashville-area switching center that handles all voice, text and data traffic for customers in Chattanooga.
Contact Mary Fortune at mfortune@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow her on Twitter @maryfortune.