Communications


Cell phones and in-plane credit card phones played a major role during and
after the attack, starting with hijacked passengers who called family or
notified the authorities about what was happening. Passengers and crew who
made calls include Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Peter Hanson, Jeremy Glick,
Barbara K. Olson, Madeline Amy Sweeney

After the attack, the cell phone network of New York City was rapidly
overloaded as traffic doubled over normal levels. Since three of the major
broadcast networks had their transmission tower atop the North Tower (One
World Trade Center), coverage was limited after the collapse of the tower.

Emergency relief efforts in both Lower Manhattan and at the Pentagon were
augmented by volunteer amateur radio operators in the weeks after the
attacks.

After the planes struck the World Trade Center, people inside made calls to
loved ones; in many cases, the last ever heard from them.

AT&T eliminated any costs for domestic calls originating from the New York
City area (212/718/917/646/347) in days following.