In that same seven-state area, 17 percent of cable subscribers were without service, higher than the 12-14 percent reported on Thursday across the larger region. The new figures also incorporated the first report from a cable provider serving hard-hit areas, the FCC said.

The agency said carriers are reporting improvements in the availability of fuel for generators bringing emergency power to communications gear.

All the major mobile operators say they are deploying emergency cell sites on wheels to serve areas without coverage, with some of those sites offering facilities for local residents to charge their phones.

Verizon's mobile arm, Verizon Wireless, said 97 percent of its cell sites throughout storm-hit areas of the Northeast were operational as of Friday morning. It said coverage was approaching pre-storm levels in most areas. In hard-hit areas such as lower Manhattan, coverage was below normal levels but was good, the company said.

The IDG News Service