AT&T and Verizon customers nationwide have encountered a problem that prevented them from calling contacts on other carriers. On June 4, customers noticed that they were unable to connect with people on different networks from around 11 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time. Subscribers from New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Cleveland and other locations were the most affected, with the issue also impacting a smaller number of T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless users.
What’s Happening & Why This Matters
The Federal Communications Commission attempted to address these concerns by acknowledging that subscribers from multiple states were unable to make wireless calls, and said that they are currently investigating the issue. Although AT&T and Verizon denied a nationwide outage, both companies admitted that their customers were experiencing difficulties reaching out to people from different networks. Despite the unclear cause of the problem, AT&T reassured that 911 calls were still going through despite the outage.
After resolving the issue an hour later, AT&T announced that they collaborated with the other carrier to find a solution and appreciated their customers’ patience during this period. It’s likely that the other carrier was Verizon since most of the affected subscribers were registered with these two companies. Back in February, AT&T encountered a massive outage, affecting over 70,000 subscribers’ cellular services and data connections, preventing even 911 calls. At that time, Verizon and T-Mobile also reported that their subscribers couldn’t connect with friends having AT&T numbers.
Many customers experienced difficulties trying to call them, and during this time, we are closely monitoring the situation.
TF Summary: What’s Next
The problem call disruption issue between carriers has been resolved and we want to thank customers for their patience during this situation. We worked together with the other carrier to find a solution for the benefit of our customers. There is no widespread Verizon outage.