Cellphone companies say their networks are largely up and running after a blizzard dumped up to 3 feet of snow on New England.

Not all cell towers have backup power, so natural disasters can take out cell service through power outages. Last fall's Superstorm Sandy had a major impact on cell service in flooded areas of the Northeast.

This week's snowstorm had much less effect. AT&T Inc. says the "vast majority" of its cell towers in the hardest-hit states are operating fine, and work is under way to restore service in some areas. Verizon Wireless, which prides itself on providing backup power to nearly all sites, says its network is performing well. Sprint Nextel Corp. says the storm's impact was "minimal."