The United States experienced widespread cellular outages, primarily affecting AT&T, Verizon, and TMobile networks. More than 50,000 incidents were reported, with major cities such as San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston affected by the disruptions. The outage impacted people’s ability to reach emergency services, with reports of AT&T users being unable to make or receive phone calls, including dialing 911 for emergencies.
AT&T, the largest US mobile phone company, was the worst hit during the outage, affecting thousands of users and prompting the Federal Communications Commission and US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to investigate the incident. Emergency services departments, like the San Francisco Fire Department and Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, urged users to text 911 in case they couldn’t make voice calls for assistance. Despite some users speculating about missed phone bill payments causing the outage, White House spokesperson John Kirby clarified that AT&T had no reason to believe it was a cyber or security incident, but the exact cause was still unknown.
As the outage continued to disrupt normal operations for many individuals, including an Uber driver unable to work without cell service, questions arose about AT&T’s responsibility in refunding affected customers. The outage also attracted political attention, with federal agencies like the FBI and Department of Homeland Security monitoring the situation closely. While AT&T restored most of its network by the afternoon, the incident highlighted the critical role of mobile phone services and emergency communication systems, emphasizing the need for robust network infrastructure and swift response measures during such disruptions.