T-Mobile has been on the ground in Southern California over the past week working side-by-side with first responders in the communities impacted by these devastating fires. We have continued to focus on our priorities: ensuring our network provides the reliable connectivity people need and mobilizing our resources to provide relief to local community members, customers and others. 

We have undertaken a number of efforts to show up for the residents of Southern California and now, as we have continued to assess the short- and longer-term needs of the area, those efforts are expanding to further address the ongoing challenges the area continues to experience. Our comprehensive efforts to date include: 

Network Support  

• T-Mobile’s network was built with overlapping coverage, permanently installed power back-ups on towers and redundant routes for data and voice traffic.  
  • Our “smart” network self-optimizes to redistribute resource loads and adjust towers to “heal” coverage gaps. AI monitors network performance, and our teams adjust network parameters to improve connectivity when and where it’s most needed. 
  • Our antennas automatically tilt to expand coverage, helping where coverage is needed, such as an area that lost power, places where people are gathered for shelter or supplies or to help boost signal during rescue missions. We have performed more than 12,000 uptilts and restores for improved coverage so far. 
• Our network has held strong through the fires, even as local conditions continue to be challenging and destruction in many areas is massive. 
  • Over 100 emergency teams are on the ground, quickly assessing and, where needed, restoring impacted sites or deploying generators or other solutions. 
  • As of today, less than 1% of sites remain impacted in the region, the majority of which are in the Pacific Palisades area due to damage or inaccessibility. To supplement those sites and others, we have over 600 portable and permanent generators deployed. In Altadena and around Pacific Palisades, heavy-duty large trucks with 65-foot antennas that extend coverage up to five miles are in key locations. Technology and microwave technology are in-place where fiber is damaged. 
  • Last week we also opened up T-Mobile’s Starlink Direct-to-Cellular for basic and 911 texting and wireless emergency alerts. To date we have served approximately 198,000 users, sent/received around 96,000 SMS messages and transmitted 21 wireless alerts. 

Customer Relief 

• Extended our offer of unlimited talk, text and data for T-Mobile and Assurance Wireless customers in the cities of Altadena, La Cañada Flintridge, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisades, Pasadena and Sierra Madre who do not currently have this as part of their service plan, effective Wednesday, January 8 through Friday, February 28. 
• Waiving deductibles for all qualified P360 insurance replacement claims in impacted zip codes for the next 30 days and customers will pay nothing at the time of claim to get a working phone in their hands. Customers can also have their device repaired in person at participating locations.​ 
• Increasing high-speed data allotment for Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile customers.  
  • Mint Mobile customers have had their high-speed data allotment increased to 2TB through February 28. Customers on 5GB, 15GB and 20GB plans will have their hotspot limits increased to 50GB. Those on Mint’s Unlimited plan will have no restrictions on hotspots.  
  • Ultra Mobile customers on plans with a data allotment have had their high-speed data allotment increased to 50GB through February 28, all of which can be used as hotspots. Customers on Ultra’s Unlimited or Unlimited+ plans will have their hotspot allotment increased to 2TB through February 28. 

First Responder Support 

• Providing first responders on the frontlines of the fires with over 1,000 different pieces of equipment such as power banks, wall adapters, car adapters and pre-lit phones or eSIMs with T-Priority and Wireless Priority Service for faster 5G speeds more consistently and the highest priority during times of high traffic. 
• Providing all Consumer and Micro TFB customers in the state of California on our First Responder plans one free month of their smartphone, connected device and Home Internet service.  
• Continuing to set up Wi-Fi routers to provide high-speed data to numerous locations, including incident command posts supporting Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Police Department, Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department, CAL FIRE and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), City of Pasadena at City Hall and Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD). 

Community Support

• Deployed 15 mobile trucks with Wi-Fi, charging and other supplies to locations around Southern California (check back to our newsroom for daily updates), including visiting 18 Red Cross shelters and community events.  
• Providing up to 5,000 Home Internet solutions and 5,000 hotspots for impacted households, both with free unlimited service for 60 days. 
• Making 10,000 more power packs available at select local stores in impacted areas and in our community support vehicles for anyone who needs them. Each power pack bag includes a power bank, charging cable, wall adapter, car adapter and headlamp. 

Educational Connectivity 

• Prioritizing student households and schools affected by the fires with our Project 10Million program that provides free unlimited service to K-12 students:  
  • Offering a free hotspot and five years of free connectivity for families with school-age children in affected zip codes, temporarily waiving prior income-based eligibility requirements. 
  • Families who have not previously participated in Project 10Million can sign up at: https://www.t-mobile.com/brand/project-10-million. 
  • Working with local school districts, including Los Angeles Unified School District, Pasadena Unified School District, South Pasadena Unified School District, Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District and Los Virgenes Unified School District to assess needs of student families and will deliver free equipment and connectivity. 

Other Giving 

• Encouraging everyone to donate to the American Red Cross through our T-Life App and continuing to match our employee donations 2:1 through January 23. 

For more on our emergency response efforts, visit T-Mobile Emergency Response. Follow @TMobileNews on X for the latest updates. 

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