Major Outages Hit U.S. Cell Service Providers; AT&T Most Affected
Date: February 22, 2024
In the early hours of Thursday morning, customers across the United States reported widespread outages from various cell service providers. AT&T, the largest among them, faced a significant disruption, with tens of thousands of customers reporting no service, according to Downdetector.com.
The issues seemed to have commenced around 4 a.m. EST, briefly subsided, then surged again, reaching over 60,000 reports by 7:30 a.m. EST. Notably, some municipalities experienced challenges with 911 service, prompting alerts from emergency departments.
The San Francisco Fire Department acknowledged the AT&T wireless issue on social media, urging affected customers to use alternative means, such as landlines, if unable to reach 911. Similar advisories were issued by law enforcement in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Flagler County, Florida.
Public transit was also impacted, with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) citing communication outages affecting their services. Some trains reflected delays due to the AT&T disruptions, although SEPTA assured passengers that overall operations were close to schedule.
In response to the crisis, AT&T released a statement to CBS News, acknowledging wireless service interruptions and expressing urgency in restoring service. They encouraged affected customers to use Wi-Fi calling until the issue was resolved. Downdetector indicated the highest concentration of complaints in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Miami.
Verizon, while experiencing some issues with cross-carrier calls and texts earlier in the day, stated that their network was operating normally. T-Mobile denied any outage, attributing challenges reported on Downdetector to difficulties in connecting to users on other networks.
As the situation unfolded, numerous customers faced disruptions, highlighting the critical role of cell service providers in ensuring communication and emergency services. The affected companies are actively addressing the issues, emphasizing the importance of alternative means of communication during such outages.