AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) resolved an outage that caused dropped wireless calls across the country on Tuesday. The issue affected calls between customers of the two carriers from being completed, notes The Verge.
“The interoperability issue between carriers has been resolved,” an AT&T spokesperson told CNN. “We collaborated with the other carrier to find a solution and appreciate our customers’ patience during this period.” AT&T told The Hill that the network didn’t undergo a “nationwide outage” and calls “between our customers were not impacted.”
A Verizon spokesperson said that its network was “operating normally” but noted that customers primarily in the Northeast and Midwest were having issues “when calling or texting with customers served by another carrier.” Calls to 911 were being completed.
The FCC is looking into the issue, saying in a statement on X: “We’re aware of reports that consumers in multiple states are unable to make wireless calls and we are currently investigating.”
AT&T did not share the number of impacted customers, however website Down Detector showed a spike in reports of issues using the service starting around 2 p.m. ET. Those numbers climbed in the hours that followed. By 6 pm ET, however, the number of reported incidents started to decline, according to Down Detector. The site listed New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis as among the cities with the most reports of issues.
AT&T told CNN that some 911 calls went through, despite a few locations, including Camden County, GA, and Scranton, PA, issuing alerts on social media that the outage was disrupting calls to 911. The carrier said the alerts were received accidentally after a template for such a notification was triggered and sent. AT&T is investigating why that happened.
The outage comes less than four months after a disruption that knocked out service for AT&T’s network for nearly 12 hours. In February, tens of thousands of AT&T customers in America were unable to make phone calls, send texts, reach emergency services or access the internet because of an AT&T Network outage, Inside Towers reported. The carrier apologized for the outage and offered customers a $5 credit to affected customers.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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