From Compassion to Connection — Inside T-Mobile’s Disaster Response

T-Mobile employees across network engineering, public safety, community support and field ops prepare year-round for the moments that matter most. When the unexpected hits, their training, new tools and hard-earned experience come together to keep families and first responders connected — fast and with compassion.

That preparation came into action when Monika Thornton, Program Manager for T-Mobile’s Consumer Group, was deployed to St. Louis after a tornado.

“When we arrived at the fire station with our community support truck, the firehouse told us, ‘We don’t actually need the Wi-Fi. But this community does,’” Thornton said. “And then we joined them, going house to house, inviting neighbors to use our charging stations and Wi-Fi. Later, the first responders showed us a block where homes had collapsed — families were eating dinner outside because they had nowhere else to go. We were able to give them power, and the firehouse gave them hope.

“That night, we were more than a network. We were a neighbor.”

September’s National Preparedness Month is a reminder that readiness can save lives. And for T-Mobile, that means constantly evolving the technologies and playbooks that keep families, first responders and communities connected when it matters most.

“Connectivity is more than calling loved ones, it’s an essential service,” says Nicole Hudnet, Industry Segment Adviser for T-Mobile for Business. “It enables 911, power restoration, road clearing, prescription access and even grocery transactions. We don’t just restore signal. We help restore life as people know it.”

The goal is simple: keeping communities and first responders connected. The approach is layered, with our largest ever mobile cell sites on heavy duty trucks and drones that provide temporary coverage, software that reroutes network traffic during congestion and conserves power, hardened sites with batteries and generators and satellites in low earth orbit linking directly to smartphones — all led in the field by T-Mobile’s experienced and compassionate emergency response teams. And with 50% more drones, more satellite trucks and trailers, and nearly double the number of VSATs — small portable satellite antennas that provide temporary wireless service — T-Mobile is equipping teams to move faster, go farther and reach more people when disasters hit.

An Evolving Tool Kit

“There isn’t a one size fits all in disaster recovery,” says Stacy Tindell, Senior Director of National Operations at T-Mobile. “You have to have a lot of different tools in the tool kit to respond to different types of situations that happen on the ground.”

A key part of that toolkit is an expanded drone program, which is transforming disaster response by providing critical coverage, situational awareness and communications access in areas unreachable by ground vehicles.

The various drones available provide a range of important functions in disaster scenarios. For example, heavy-lift drones have a 60-minute battery endurance for multi-mile range use and 100 lb. payload, which is perfect for rapid deployable communications tools and cargo drops.

“Some of the drones that I’m flying, like the tethered drone systems, are capable of reaching 400 feet high to operate as a mobile coverage source on T-Mobile’s 5G network, creating a coverage bubble of about two miles,” says Kris Rhoades, Senior Disaster Recovery Manager at T-Mobile. “That lets us reach areas without ground access and provide that critical communications piece for first responders.”

In addition to coverage, search and rescue drones are equipped with thermal imaging, high-resolution cameras and AI tools to help locate missing persons or give first responders aerial visibility of areas needing support.

Leveraging the Network

Another key part of T-Mobile’ s disaster response strategy is T-Priority, the cutting-edge public safety solution that combines a dedicated 5G network slice with an ecosystem of tools including drones and deployables. The slice helps provide public safety agencies with lower latency and faster speeds more consistently with the highest priority across all 5G bands. So, the essential tools that firefighters, paramedics, utility crews and healthcare teams depend on every day — like smartphones, tablets, thermal imaging and radios — run on a network that keeps up with them.

“Technologies like T-Priority and network slicing will continue to help create a streamlined and effective way to keep connectivity happening in real time during high stress situations,” says Luis Reyes, Vice President of Field Engineering for the West Region at T-Mobile.

T-Mobile’s direct-to-cell satellite solution, T-Satellite with Starlink, is another critical component of its disaster response playbook.

“T-Satellite is a game changer,” Tindell says. “We first turned it on during Hurricane Helene in 2024 and then put those lessons to work when Southern California faced devastating wildfires. Across those events, it carried more than 1 million texts — including to 911 — and over 200 Wireless Emergency Alerts.”

Satellite texting, including the ability to text 911, is now available for almost every smartphone, with data use for select apps already available on Pixel 10. This has been especially useful in areas where cell towers are down or inaccessible.

Proven Tools and Community Commitment

These advancements build on T-Mobile’s on-the-ground response including deployable units, power redundancy and community outreach. Deployable assets like SatCOWs (Satellite Cell on Wheels) and SatCOLTs (Satellite Cell on Light Trucks) can be quickly dispatched to restore coverage when infrastructure is damaged.

“These are cell sites on wheels. We roll them in to provide temporary coverage after an event,” says John Melbert, Manager of Emergency Operations. “It’s like picking the right tool from a toolbox — you don’t always need a bigger hammer. We assess the need, then assemble the right assets.”

“As satellite tech advances, each truck can do more,” he adds. “We can offer services from a single vehicle that weren’t possible before.”

And sometimes, the right tool is meeting people where they are.

“When we were in Malibu during the devastating fires in January, a man walked up needing power banks, not for himself, but for six people staying in his home who had lost everything,” Thornton recalls. “Our team gave him chargers and Wi-Fi so they could file insurance claims, reach out to loved ones and feel safe. It reminded me that the most difficult situations can bring out the best in people — and our role is to support that goodness.”

Learn more at T-Mobile.com/news/emergency-response.

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T-Satellite: Available with compatible device in most outdoor areas in the U.S. where you can see the sky. Satellite service, including text to 911, may be delayed, limited, or unavailable. Included with Experience Beyond; or $10/mo.; auto renews monthly. Cancel anytime. T-Priority features available for eligible emergency response organizations on select plans. Capable device required. Performance baseline commits available network resources to help maintain threshold throughput, even in times of congestion. See 5G device, coverage and access details at T-Mobile.com.