This morning, a widespread cellular outage swept across the United States, disrupting service for thousands of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers. The issue, which began around 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time, left users unable to make calls, send texts, or access the internet via their mobile devices.
According to reports from Downdetector, more than 50,000 AT&T users, along with significant numbers of Verizon and T-Mobile subscribers, were impacted by the outage. The outage map displayed on Downdetector indicated concentrated problem areas in cities such as Tampa, New York, Montreal, Los Angeles, Houston, and Witchita, Kansas.
While the cause of the outage remains undisclosed, AT&T issued a statement acknowledging the disruption and assuring customers that efforts are underway to restore service. The company advised affected users to utilize Wi-Fi calling as an alternative means of communication until regular service resumes.
Local government agencies, including emergency services departments, also felt the effects of the outage. San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management, among others, reported difficulties with 911 services due to the cellular network failure. Several regions recommended utilizing landlines or alternative carriers for emergency calls.
This widespread disruption comes on the heels of recent sporadic outages experienced by AT&T, including a temporary 911 outage in some southeastern states. While occasional service disruptions are not uncommon, prolonged nationwide outages are rare occurrences.
Both Verizon and T-Mobile acknowledged smaller-scale outages affecting their customers but emphasized that their networks were operational. T-Mobile clarified that reports of outages were likely due to difficulties connecting with users on other networks.
As affected users await the restoration of their mobile services, the incident underscores the reliance on cellular networks for everyday communication and highlights the need for robust backup systems to mitigate disruptions in emergencies.
