AT&T recently experienced a 10-hour wireless outage, affecting a significant number of customers. The company has attributed the incident to an incorrect process used during network expansion, ruling out the possibility of a cyberattack. Over 73,000 outage reports were filed during this time, though the exact number of affected customers remains unclear.
To address the inconvenience caused by the outage, AT&T has announced that it will provide billing credits to impacted and potentially impacted customers. Each account will receive a $5 credit as compensation for the disruption in service. The credits are expected to be applied within 1 or 2 billing cycles, excluding AT&T Business, AT&T Prepaid, and Cricket accounts.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are currently investigating the outage. While AT&T, along with defense officials, do not believe the incident was the result of a cyberattack, the FBI is also in contact with the company to gather more information.
Despite reports of issues from some Verizon and T-Mobile customers during the outage, both companies have confirmed that their cellular networks were operating normally. They indicated that the connectivity problems experienced by their customers may have been related to connecting with users on other networks.
AT&T has expressed its regret for the disruption and inconvenience caused by the outage, emphasizing its commitment to reliably connecting customers at all times. By providing billing credits to impacted accounts, the company aims to reassure customers of its dedication to ensuring uninterrupted service in the future.