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On February 22, a massive cellular outage affected millions of users across the US, leaving them without phone calls, text messages, and internet access for more than 13 hours. The outage sparked fears of a cyber attack, as some users speculated that the disruption was caused by a malicious activity targeting the nation’s communication infrastructure. However, the White House and AT&T denied any evidence of a cyber attack and blamed the disruption on a network error that occurred during a network expansion.
Cell Outage Hits Major and Minor Carriers
The cell outage started around 4:30 a.m. and lasted for more than 13 hours, impacting AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and several smaller carriers. According to Downdetector, a website that tracks service issues, AT&T received nearly 32,000 reports of problems, while T-Mobile and Verizon had over 800 each. A Verizon spokesperson said some of the issues were due to users trying to reach AT&T customers.
The cell outage had serious consequences for public safety and communication, as some police departments reported difficulties receiving 911 calls. The outage also affected users in various cities across the country, such as New York, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and even Montreal in Canada.
AT&T users were especially affected, as they were stuck in “SOS Mode”, which only allowed them to call emergency services. An AT&T spokesperson advised users to use Wi-Fi calling while the company worked to fix the issue.
By 11:30 a.m., AT&T announced that it had restored 75% of its network, and by 2:15 p.m., it had fully restored its service. The company apologized to its customers and said it was taking steps to prevent such an incident from happening again.
T-Mobile and Verizon spokespersons said their issues were mainly related to users trying to contact AT&T customers.
FCC and CISA Investigate the Cause
As the cell outage unfolded, many users speculated that it was caused by a cyberattack, given the widespread and prolonged nature of the disruption. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) launched investigations into the incident, working with AT&T to determine the root cause.
However, the White House dismissed the cyberattack theory, saying that there was no evidence of any malicious activity. White House spokesman John Kirby said that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were looking into the AT&T cell outage, but found no signs of a cyber attack.
AT&T Admits Network Error
The cause of the cell outage was revealed by AT&T, which issued a statement saying that it was due to an incorrect process execution during their network expansion. The company said that the disruption was not caused by any external interference, but by a system overload. The company said that it was working to ensure that such an error would not happen again.
The outage highlighted the vulnerability of the US communication infrastructure and raised questions about the reliability of major carriers in the face of unforeseen challenges. The outage also frustrated many users, who complained about the lack of timely updates from AT&T and the inconvenience of being unable to communicate.
The AT&T outage affected millions of customers across the country, who were unable to make or receive calls, send or receive text messages, or access the internet. The outage lasted for several hours, causing frustration and inconvenience for many users. Some businesses and public services also reported disruptions due to the outage. AT&T apologized for the inconvenience and said that the outage was caused by a hardware issue that affected its network. The company said that it was working to restore service as quickly as possible and prevent similar incidents in the future.
