September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack/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.

September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack - Full Timeline
In Memoriam - Casualties - Missing Persons - Survivors - Personal experiences
Donations - Assistance - Closings and Cancellations - Memorials and Services
US Governmental Response - Responsibility - Hijackers - Political effects - Economic effects

See also: "War on Terrorism" -- U.S. invasion of Afghanistan -- 2001 anthrax attack -- World Trade Center -- The Pentagon -- New York City -- Washington, D.C. -- AA Flight 11 -- UA Flight 75 -- AA Flight 77 -- UA Flight 93 -- U.S. Department of Defense -- terrorism -- domestic terrorism -- Osama bin Laden -- Taliban -- Islamism -- Afghanistan -- collective trauma -- September 11

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External Links and References

An Unimaginable Emergency Put Communications to the Test, The New York Times, 9/20/2001 (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/20/technology/circuits/20INFR)
The Simple BlackBerry Allowed Contact When Phones Failed, The New York Times, 9/20/2001 (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/20/technology/circuits/20BERR)
Using a Cellphone Signal to Hunt for a Victim in Desperate Need, The New York Times, 9/20/2001 (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/20/technology/circuits/20CELL)