Massive Rogers wireless outage causes total chaos in Toronto
A widespread service outage on the Rogers wireless network is proving more than an annoyance for the many customers affected — it's preventing some first responders from doing their jobs.
Why is @Rogers failing to notify customers of a global outage and depending instead on police to let people know that if they use Rogers and need 911, they may get nothing but a dead line? @RogersMediaPR @RogersHelps @JustinTrudeau @fordnation https://t.co/Eajgx9IPu8
— Jonathan Sher (@SherOnHealth) July 8, 2019
Toronto firefighters and paramedics told CP24 last night that they'd been experiencing high volumes of dropped 911 calls since the outage first took hold.
Dispatchers had been forced to treat all dropped calls for service as "unknown trouble" due to a lack of details and the inability to call anyone back for context.
Toronto police and fire services were furthermore unable to communicate with each other by phone, according to CP24, as calls were being dropped as soon as they were answered.
Rogers says that 911 services have since been restored and that emergency calls are now going through.
A representative for the company also confirmed by email on Monday afternoon that "voice services are being restored with a very limited number of customers experiencing intermittent interruption to voice calls."
Stupid ass @rogers and their wack ass service prevented me from calling 911 after I witnessed a terrible car accident today. Smfh..
— Ⓜ️ish-Ⓜ️ash (@BOMBchelle__) July 8, 2019
The troubles began Sunday afternoon when voice calls started dropping en masse for people using Freedom Mobile, Rogers, or its sub-brands Fido and Chatr.
Internet, data and text services are still working, by all accounts, but as of Monday morning Rogers has yet to get its phone network up and running sufficiently.
"Please be advised some customers may be intermittently experiencing dropped calls or are unable to place or receive calls on their mobile phone or wireless home phone service," reads a note on the company's website.
"We are working diligently to restore services as soon as possible," continues the notice, which lists the outage location as "National."
"We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience."
@Rogers is reporting network issues impacting both mobiles & wireless home service across country including B.C. Use alternate providers if you need to call 9-1-1 or non emergency. Follow @RogersHelps for updates on restoration of its network service. pic.twitter.com/N6lrkez9ch
— E-Comm 9-1-1 (@EComm911_info) July 7, 2019
Rogers doesn't know what's causing the outage, nor does it have an estimated time of restoration, based on what the telecom is telling customers on Twitter.
Wireless issues are the last thing we want anyone to experience and we apologize for the trouble you were having. We are aware of an issue where customers are experiencing dropped calls, failed calls and dead air while on calls. Our maintenance team is doing 1/2
— RogersHelps (@RogersHelps) July 8, 2019
And the masses are growing increasingly frustrated as the hours wear on.
"For a multi-million dollar company to have a day-long service outage on a Sunday is unacceptable," wrote one customer on Twitter. "I spend between $400 to $500 a month for cell phone service for multiple lines. I expect compensation for this."
"Without service for past 12h," wrote another. "Now getting annoying as I have critical calls to make."
@rogershelp i was on the phone with my parents and it disconnected and then i was on the phone with my grandma and my phone disconnected. what gives? someones gotta explain to my grandma that i didn't hang up on her bc shes upset and blaming me #rogers
— (re-knee/eye-reen) (@re_____knee) July 8, 2019
While the outage does appear to be largely a Rogers network issue, Bell and Telus customers are also reporting dropped calls.
"Some customers may experience calling issues as the result of a service interruption on other carriers' networks," wrote Telus in an update Sunday night. "We are continue to monitor the issue as the providers work to resolve their outage."
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