AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile shares were in the spotlight on Thursday as a significant cellular outage plagued the U.S.
The Ripple Effect
Over 60,000 incidents were reported by AT&T subscribers, while Verizon and T-Mobile also faced disruptions, with more than 3,500 and unrecorded outages, respectively, according to Downdetector, which monitors major service outages.
Notably, the outage, commencing around 4 a.m. EST, also impacted emergency services, including AT&T’s FirstNet, a communication platform crucial for first responders.
AT&T revealed that three-quarters of its network had been restored shortly after 11 a.m. EST. Despite the prompt progress, the impact on customers and services was evident, with calls to 911 and general connectivity disrupted.
The Regulatory Response
Both the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Communications Commission have pledged to investigate the root cause of the outage, working closely with AT&T.
The market responded swiftly, with AT&T shares plummeting 2.3%, while Verizon and T-Mobile saw declines of 1.5% and 0.3%, respectively, significantly deviating from overall market trends.
The San Francisco Fire Department acknowledged the impact on AT&T wireless customers, emphasizing the broader ramifications of the outage and the consequential strain on emergency services.
A Verizon spokesperson assured that their network was “operating normally,” acknowledging the inter-carrier communication issues but committing to monitoring the situation proactively.
(This story has been updated to include comments from the FCC.)