Verizon Outage Knocks Out US Mobile Service, Including Some 911 Calls
Customers of telecommunications giant Verizon began reporting cell phone outages in the United States around noon ET on Wednesday, saying they couldn’t make calls and had no access to mobile data. Verizon broadband Internet customers are also reporting problems. AT&T and T-Mobile customers also began reporting service outages during the same period, but those reports may be linked to the Verizon outage.
Verizon spokesperson Christina Moon Ashraf told WIRED in a statement: “We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and working to quickly identify and resolve the issue.”
A T-Mobile spokesperson told WIRED in a statement that its service is “performing optimally” but added that “T-Mobile customers may not be able to reach anyone with Verizon service at this time.” AT&T did not immediately respond to WIRED’s requests for comment.
Outage tracking site DownDetector showed spikes in reports of service outages for the three major U.S. wireless carriers.
Many customers using iOS and Android devices report that their phones are in SOS mode, meaning they can only make emergency calls. In practice, however, some reports indicate that the situation could also prevent 911 calls.
Washington, D.C.’s official emergency alert channel said in a message posted at 12:57 p.m. ET that the D.C. Office of Unified Communications “is aware of a nationwide Verizon Wireless outage that may prevent some users from connecting to 911. If you have an emergency and cannot connect using your Verizon Wireless device, please connect using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a local district of police or fire station to report the emergency.
Similar incidents have occurred in the past, where an outage at one carrier appears to involve multiple telcos, due to collateral impacts when the downed telco cannot carry calls and customer data from other providers.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
