There is a big outage problem in the USA, people are facing connectivity issues in their mobile network. Big networks of USA AT&T, T-Mobile &Verizon were disrupted in the morning time 4 am to 7 am. It left many users not able to place calls, text & dial on emergency services.
More than 73,000 AT&T customers reported outage problems & they are unable to contact with the other network customers and do not even dial on the emergency network. These issues are raised in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston & Atlanta.
T-Mobile & Verizon have a lesser number of outage problems. A little over 1,100 T-Mobile & 3000 Verizon customers have faced this issue. Downdetector reported of about more than 73,000 AT&T customers reported outages on the site.
Many govt. the department issues a warning message that customers should choose a different method to reach them by using wi-fi services or calling from a landline number.
T-Mobile & Verizon said that their network does not face the problem directly. Their customer who reported the problem of network issues are the ones who are connecting to the other AT&T network carrier.
AT&T Network Issued Statement for Outage Problem
The large network disruption faced by AT&T customers caused panic situations across most of the state of the USA. AT&T didn’t tell the reason behind the outage.
“Some of our customers are experiencing wireless service interruptions this morning, We are working urgently to restore service to them. We encourage the use of Wi-Fi calling until service is restored.”
The company asked its customers to send direct messages online, and they’ll respond on the customer services portal.
AT&T has encountered outage problems so many times in the last few months, especially in the emergency domain, when customers wanted to call 911 services. But it was in the Southeastern part of the USA. But for the first time, they have faced nationwide network disruptions on the AT&T network.
Many USA Emergency Departments also Complain About Connectivity Issues
San Francisco Department of Emergency Management released the statement on Thursday this morning “ If you are an AT&T customer and cannot get through to 911, then please try calling from a landline. If that is not an option then please try to get ahold of a friend or family member who is a customer of a different carrier and ask them to call 911 on your behalf”.
Today’s nation-wide cellular outage is a reminder to be prepared for any type of emergency. In the event of a disruption to cellular coverage try these tips:
Enable Wi-Fi calling on your phone
Use a landline if possibleLearn more about being prepared at https://t.co/uHtGvTlcyA pic.twitter.com/sXPXCg5uQ4
— San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (@SF_emergency) February 22, 2024
Similarly, the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications, Virginia Prince William County Police Department, and North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department issued warnings to the public that people were not able to contact 911 yesterday morning.
NotifyChicago: If you are AT&T customer unable get through to 911 try calling from landline or use another carrier phone. Do not call 911 to test your service.
— Chicago OEMC (@ChicagoOEMC) February 22, 2024
Atlanta e-911 is able to connect with the customers who are dialing on 911, many AT&T customers complain about the network disruptions and their phones are in SOS mode.
iPhone users also face the same situation as their phone network bar shows the SOS mode but they are still able to make emergency calls through other networks.
AT&T Nationwide Outage Issues Got Resolved: Not The Sign of Cyber Attack
Yesterday AT&T did not give the actual clarification on the matter, their authority was tightlipped. But today as their nationwide outage issue was resolved, they released the statement “ We have restored wireless service to all our affected customers. We sincerely apologize to them. Keeping our customers connected remains our top priority, and we are taking steps to ensure our customers do not experience this again in the future.”
Agencies like the US Cyber Security & Infrastructure Security Agency found no trace of cyber attacks. But in the meanwhile Federal Communications Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) & Department of Homeland Security are looking into the matter in detail.
Syracuse University School of Information Studies associate professor Lee McNight just discussed about the actual cause of the Cloud misconfiguration which is the fancy word for human error.
AT&T also said that the main reason behind the nationwide outage is due to the incorrect installment process of applications as they are expanding their network.