Cell phone foes join forces to help

A man charges his cellphone from an extension cord from a home Wednesday that still had power in Hoboken, New Jersey. AT&T and T-Mobile will share networks in New York and New Jersey Customers of the two companies will automatically use the strongest network in their area The FCC estimates that a quarter of all cell towers are down in the states impacted by Sandy (CNN) -- Getting cell phone reception in waterlogged New York and New Jersey could get a bit easier. In a rare moment of collaboration, wireless providers AT&T and T-Mobile have agreed to share networks in the challenging days following Superstorm Sandy, allowing customers to use whichever network gets coverage in their areas. The combining of networks will happen entirely behind the scenes, so all customers need to do is dial out. They'll automatically be routed over whatever network is currently the strongest in their location. Traffic snarls in New York City on Wednesday, October 31. Residents and businesses across the Eastern Seaboard are attempting to return to their daily lives in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. View photos of New York bracing for Sandy. A Caring Foundation worker hands out food to residents of the heavily damaged Rockaway section of Queens on Wednesday. Water floods streets in the Rockaway section of Queens on Wednesday. Traders stand outside of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Wednesday. Stocks advanced as U.S. equity markets resumed trading for the first time this week after the storm. A man surveys damage on Wednesday, October 31, in the Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, New York, where the historic boardwalk was washed away during Superstorm Sandy. Residents walk with their belongings through the Rockaway section of Queens on Wednesday. The remains of homes burned down in Rockaway are seen Wednesday, a day after an inferno spread across the flooded neighborhood. Firefighters continued to survey the damage in Rockaway on Wednesday. At least 80 homes were destroyed. People wait for buses on Sixth Avenue in New York on Wednesday as New Yorkers cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. People attempt to squish into a crowded bus on First Avenue in New York on Wednesday. Con Edison crew members work on a steam pipe on First Avenue on Wednesday. The foundations to the historic Rockaway boardwalk in Brooklyn are all that remain after it was washed away Wednesday during Hurricane Sandy. People walk to work Wednesday on a normally busy street near the New York Stock Exchange. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday after it had been closed for two days. Commuters arrive in Manhattan by ferry from Jersey City, New Jersey, on its first day back in business after Sandy. CNN iReporter Jordan Shapiro captured this view of the Williamsburg Bridge in New York at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30. Half of the bridge and Brooklyn is lit, while the Manhattan side and the surrounding part of the island remain shrouded in darkness. A subway station and escalator sit underwater in New York on Tuesday. Much of the New York City skyline sits in darkness Tuesday evening after damage from Superstorm Sandy knocked out power. About 6.9 million customers are without power in 15 states and the District of Columbia, according to figures compiled by CNN from power companies. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, center, views the damage Tuesday in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, where a fire broke out during Superstorm Sandy and destroyed at least 80 homes. A resident looks through the debris of his destroyed home in Breezy Point, Queens, on Tuesday. Burned-out vehicles and destroyed homes line a street in Breezy Point, located on the western end of the Rockaway peninsula in New York. A fire continues to burn Tuesday in the remains of a structure that was destroyed by the Breezy Point blaze. A New York City man hands a dog to first responders while being evacuated on Tuesday. A bartender at the International Bar in the East Village neighborhood of New York City makes drinks in the dark on Tuesday as electricity remains out for many in the city. Water floods the Plaza Shops in New York, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, on Tuesday, October 30. Con Edison employees monitor the drainage of water being pumped out of Seven World Trade Center in the Financial District of New York on Tuesday. Onlookers watch a construction crane dangling from a $1.5 billion luxury high-rise after collapsing in high winds. The construction crane dangles from a high-rise in midtown Manhattan. Ramiro Arcos clears debris from a storm drain in the Financial District of New York after Sandy swept through the city. A couple walks in the rain Tuesday, with the East River and the Lower Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. The Manhattan skyline remains dark after much of the city lost electricity in the storm. Cars float in a flooded below-street-level parking area in the Financial District on Tuesday. People take a Tuesday morning walk on the Brooklyn Bridge, which remains closed to traffic after the city awakened to the storm damage. A car sits crushed by a tree in the Financial District on Tuesday. Photos: New York braces for Sandy. 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Millions along the Eastern Seaboard coped with major losses and daily inconveniences. View photos of the recovery effort in New York. Residents walk through the area where the boardwalk was washed away in the Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, New York, on Wednesday. The Rockaway boardwalk in Queens, New York, was stripped down to the piers by Superstorm Sandy. People look at a damaged section of the Rockaway boardwalk in Queens, New York, on Wednesday. People walk down a flooded street on Wednesday, October 31, in Hoboken, New Jersey. A man charges his cellphone at a home that still has power in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 31. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 2 million customers in New Jersey were without power. A firefighter stands on the porch of a home destroyed by fire in Queens on Wednesday. Customers line up to buy supplies at an Ace Hardware with a power generator in Hoboken, New Jersey, on Wednesday. Superstorm Sandy stripped the steps from the deck of this home in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Superstorm Sandy left a car buried in sand in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. A helicopter flies past damaged homes in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 31. A man makes his way through floodwater and debris in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, on Wednesday. A police car patrols an empty waterfront neighborhood without power in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Wednesday. Concrete piers are all that remain of the destroyed boardwalk in Atlantic City on Wednesday. Debris from damaged property and the remains of a boardwalk litter the shoreline in Atlantic City on Wednesday. Waterfront property in Atlantic City lays in tatters on Wednesday. Transportation in the state was crippled by floodwaters, as well. "We are in a state of crisis all across this state," Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker told CNN on Wednesday. "It's going to be a challenging time." A police car patrols an empty waterfront neighborhood that lost power at dawn in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Wednesday. People wait for buses along New York's Sixth Avenue on Wednesday. Superstorm Sandy stripped New York's historic Rockaway boardwalk down to its foundation. A woman examines damage to the Rockaway neighborhood in New York on Wednesday. Commuters ride a NY Waterway ferry from Jersey City, New Jersey, on Wednesday, the first day of operation since the storm hit. A man rides on the front of a forklift while recording flood damage for insurance purposes in Little Ferry, New Jersey, on Wednesday. Con Edison employee John Shammah pauses while working on a steam pipe on First Avenue in New York City on Wednesday. CNN iReporter Jordan Shapiro captured this view of the Williamsburg Bridge in New York at 11 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30. Half of the bridge and Brooklyn is lit, while the Manhattan side and the surrounding part of the island remain shrouded in darkness. Dog owners in Alexandria, Virginia, gathered to see the flood waters left by Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday. Taxis sit in a flooded lot Tuesday in Hoboken, New Jersey. People take pictures of a flooded street Tuesday in Hoboken. A man stands near a homemade road block on Tuesday in Little Ferry, New Jersey. People wait in line to fill containers with gas at a Shell station in Edison, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Superstorm Sandy left much of Bergen County flooded and without power. Aerial images from the U.S. Coast Guard show the coastline in Brigantine, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Sandy struck land near Atlantic City, New Jersey, around high tide Monday night. Homes and other buildings in Brigantine were destroyed in Sandy's wake. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie described the devastation in the state as "unthinkable." Brigantine saw extensive damage from high winds and flooding. Homes are flooded Tuesday in Tuckerton, New Jersey. President Barack Obama signed major disaster declarations for New Jersey and New York, clearing the way for federal aid. A resident walks down a street covered in beach sand due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy in Long Beach, New York on Tuesday. Firefighters work to extinguish flames in a home in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens on Tuesday. The massive fire broke out during the storm and destroyed at least 80 homes Ted Wondsel, owner of Ted's Fishing Station in Long Beach, assesses the damage to his business Tuesday. People wait outside a shelter at the Bergen County Technical Schools Teterboro Campus on Tuesday in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. Utility workers from Delmarva Power replace a power pole that was damaged during Hurricane Sandy in Ocean City, Maryland, on Tuesday. Dale Kelly sits on a bench Tuesday on a flooded street in Ocean City, New Jersey, which was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy. Ted Wondsel, left, of Point Lookout works on part of a dock destroyed in the storm in Long Beach on Tuesday. West Broadway in Long Beach is covered in beach sand due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday. Residents walk along a street covered in beach sand after floodwaters from Superstorm Sandy retreated Tuesday in Long Beach. A small plane damaged in the storm sits on a runway in Farmingdale, New York, on Tuesday. Streets remain flooded in portions of Ocean City, New Jersey. Utility workers repair a traffic signal damaged by the storm in Ocean City, New Jersey, on Tuesday. A Virgin Mary statue stands in the Breezy Point neighborhood of Queens, New York, on Tuesday after a fire fed by high winds destroyed at least 80 homes, officials said. President Barack Obama outlines the federal government's response to Superstorm Sandy at the Red Cross headquarters in Washington. Firefighters work to contain the fire in Queens on Tuesday. Some 200 firefighters battled the six-alarm blaze. A man surveys damage to sailboats Tuesday at a marina on City Island in New York. "My message to the federal government: no bureaucracy, no red tape, get resources where they're needed as fast as possible, as hard as possible, and for the duration," Obama said in Washington Tuesday. Both Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney canceled campaign events. People stand on a mound of construction dirt on Tuesday to view a section of the uptown boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, that was destroyed by flooding. A firefighter looks through debris in Queens on Tuesday. In September, the same area endured severe weather as a powerful cold front brought heavy rain, high winds and a tornado. A malfunctioning generator billows black smoke at a building in New York on Tuesday. Mitt Romney helps gather donated goods for storm relief Tuesday in Kettering, Ohio. Emergency personnel help a resident of Little Ferry, New Jersey, onto a boat after rescuing her from floodwater on Tuesday. Dean Walter, left. and Henry Young walk along a seawall in Scituate, Massachusetts, with their surfboards after going into the heavy surf for about 20 minutes on Tuesday. Superstorm Sandy left New York's South Street Seaport flooded and covered in debris on Tuesday. Passers-by look at a car that was crushed by a tree near New York's financial district on Tuesday. Pedestrians and bikers cross the Brooklyn Bridge after the storm on Tuesday. People stand among the debris of the destroyed section of Atlantic City, New Jersey's, uptown boardwalk on Tuesday. Sailboats rest on the ground after being tipped over by Superstorm Sandy on City Island, New York, on Tuesday. Onlookers watch a dangling crane, damaged in the winds of Superstorm Sandy, atop a luxury high-rise under construction in midtown Manhattan on Tuesday. An onlooker snaps a photo of the damaged crane on Tuesday. Jolito Ortiz helps clean up a friend's apartment on New York's lower east side on Tuesday. A tidal surge created by Sandy flooded the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in New York on Tuesday. A worker cuts down a tree near American University in Washington on Tuesday. A home badly damaged by Superstorm Sandy sits along the shoreline in Milford, Connecticut, on Tuesday. An emergency worker carries a resident through floodwaters in Little Ferry, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Police walk past debris left by the storm at Battery Park in New York on Tuesday. Floodwater splashes into the window of a building on the shore in Bellport, New York, on Tuesday. Rescue workers use a hovercraft to rescue a resident using a wheelchair from floodwaters in Little Ferry, New Jersey, on Tuesday. A resident of Little Ferry, New Jersey, assists in rescue efforts with his personal watercraft on Tuesday. The HMS Bounty, a 180-foot sailboat, is submerged in the Atlantic Ocean about 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina, on Monday, October 29. A man walks through the debris of a 2,000-foot section of Atlantic City, New Jersey's "uptown" boardwalk on Tuesday. It was destroyed by flooding from Sandy. Downed trees are removed near the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington on Tuesday. Heavy surf buckles Ocean Avenue in Avalon, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Sam Rigby walks on Tuesday near an uprooted tree that grazed his house and hit his neighbor's house in Washington. A photographer shoots waves in Lake Michigan generated by the remnants of Sandy as they crash into the Chicago shoreline on Tuesday. A police officer helps remove a tree branch brought down during the storm in Washington on Tuesday. A man takes pictures of cars from the steps of a home on a flooded street at Hoboken in New Jersey, on Tuesday. A woman wades through water at the South Street Seaport in New York City on Tuesday. A street light and utility pole lie on the street in Avalon, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Atlantic City, New Jersey, resident Kim Johnson inspects the area around her flooded apartment building on Tuesday. A power line knocked over by a falling tree blocks a street in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on Tuesday. Workers shovel debris from the streets in Ocean City, Maryland, on Tuesday. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flies over Central Park in New York on Tuesday. A man jogs near a darkened Manhattan skyline on Tuesday after much of New York City lost electricity. Workers clear a tree blocking East 96th Street in Central Park in New York on Tuesday. View more photos of the recovery efforts in New York. 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Making calls across the Northeast has been difficult following Sandy, and New York and New Jersey seem to be the hardest hit. According to the Federal Communication Commission, about a quarter of cell phone towers in the 10 states were knocked out by the storm. Repairing these towers will take several days or longer, and continued inclement weather could cause additional issues and repair delays. Some transmission sites that are still working are currently running on backup generators, which carriers hope will last until power is restored. "Our assumption is that communications outages could get worse before they get better, particularly for mobile," FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said on a call with reporters Tuesday. Only a very small number of 911 call centers had lost power, and those calls were being rerouted to working centers, according to the FCC. Post-Sandy water safety tips The major cellphone carriers have shared varying amounts of information on their service outages following Sandy. Sprint said it was experiencing "service impacts," but that it could not provide a specific number for the amount of people without service. T-Mobile said that in New York CIty, 20% of its network was down. In Washington that number was 10%. Verizon's New York City facilities were severely flooded, and the damages were still being assessed. The carrier said its networks were mostly doing well, but there were serious problems in lower Manhattan and general problems throughout New York City. The company did not give exact numbers for outages. Verizon officials also cautioned that some customers in the Northeast might receive "all circuits are busy" messages when trying to make calls because of an unusually large volume of post-Sandy demand on the network. AT&T was the most vague, only saying that it was monitoring its land line and wireless networks and working to restore service. T-Mobile and AT&T did not give a timeline for how long this cross-company cooperation would last. Man faces fallout for fake Sandy tweets