Several cellphone service providers, including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, experienced nationwide outages Thursday morning, according to a website that tracks service outages.
Most of the carriers seemed to experience a spike in reported outages around 4:30 a.m., according to downdetector.com, though the outages may have begun earlier. People were still reporting service outages by 7 a.m.
As many smaller carriers lease cell towers or have roaming agreements with larger carriers, service providers such as Consumer Cellular, US Cellular, Cricket Wireless, Boost Mobile and Straight Talk were also affected by the outages.
Downdetector’s live outage heat maps suggested that the outages weren’t consistent across the country. Major cities could be heavily affected by one carrier’s outage, but not another’s.
Some municipalities were experiencing issues with 911 service, CBS News reported. The San Francisco Fire Department tweeted just before 6 a.m. that AT&T customers were having trouble reaching them and suggested customers use a landline.
By 7 a.m., the carriers still hadn’t posted any information about the outages on social media. It is unclear what is causing the outages.
