A significant cellphone outage disrupted users across the US early on Thursday, impacting major carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. AT&T, in particular, faced the largest number of issues, with nearly 60,000 reports at 7:45 a.m. ET. The outage affected users from New York to Montreal, impacting both large cities and smaller areas. Disturbingly, some police departments were unable to receive 911 calls during the outage, raising concerns about public safety.
The number of reported outages on T-Mobile and Verizon exceeded 1000, though Verizon attributed some issues to users reporting difficulties when trying to connect with other services. Smaller carriers, including Boost Mobile, Consumer Cellular, and Straight Talk Wireless, also reported problems. Users expressed frustration on social media, criticizing the lack of updates from providers, with some stuck in “SOS Mode,” only able to reach emergency services.
Verizon claimed its network was “operating as normal,” suggesting issues arose when customers attempted to communicate with users on different telecommunications networks. Despite widespread speculation about a potential cyberattack, the cause of the outage remained unclear. The disruption prompted concerns about the reliability and resilience of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure, highlighting the impact on emergency services and daily communication for millions of users.
Reference:
- AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon users hit by massive cellular outage in US
- AT&T customers report a massive outage, disrupting phone service across America
- More than 60,000 At&T customers say they’re unable to make calls with others reporting their phones automatically calling 911 and reverting to SOS as map shows hotspots
