SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE:
As of 2:10 p.m. CT, AT&T confirms all services have been restored. The company posted the below message on its website.
“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.”
ORIGINAL:
Cellular service for many AT&T customers across the country was reportedly down early Thursday morning, according to the website Downdetector.com, a website that monitors the service of wireless companies.
According to the website, more than 73,000 AT&T customers have self-reported outages. The nationwide outage was first reported around 2:30 a.m.
AT&T confirmed it does have a widespread outage but has not provided a reason why. The company has over 240 million subscribers and is the country’s largest provider.
“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,” AT&T said.
As of 10:15 a.m. CT, AT&T said three-quarters of their network had been restored. They are presently working to restore service to the remaining customers.
Users of Verizon, T-Mobile, Cricket Wireless and FirstNet also reported outages early Thursday as well. CNN, however, reported that T-Mobile and Verizon both say they did not experience outages.
“We did not experience an outage,” T-Mobile said. “Our network is operating normally.”
Verizon said the same, stating it was not affected by AT&T’s outage.
“Verizon’s network is operating normally. Some customers experienced issues this morning when calling or texting with customers served by another carrier. We are continuing to monitor the situation,” Verizon said.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said they have not had any issues with connectivity or with their dispatch center.
“Due to the connectivity issues AT&T is currently experiencing, residents can still call 911 despite their downed service wherever they are located,” BCSO said. “Residents with non-emergency issues who have AT&T service can dial 911 to get ahold of dispatch to make reports.”
The San Antonio Fire Department said their 911 call-taking and dispatching also had not been impacted. Residents can still call 911 via Wi-Fi calling, as well as the SOS feature in cellphones.
It is unclear what caused the outages.