Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, AT&T and US Cellular customers are reporting a widespread outage over parts of the US, including Whatcom County.
Reports are originating along the entire west coast and east as far as Denver according to DownDetector.com. Problems began being reported before 12pm.
Impacted customers report not being able to make voice calls but continue to be able to text message and access the internet via smartphones.
As of 1pm, Verizon Support personnel reported they were aware of the problem and estimated having a resolution within 12 to 14 hours.
Click for more information
Click for more informationAnyone needing to contact What-Comm 911 can still use text messaging.
- You must have a text or data plan for your cell phone to place a Text-to-911 message
- Enter “911” into the “to” or “recipient” field
- The first message should be location and type of help needed, for instance, “1234 Main Street, Bellingham, need ambulance for injury”
- Press “send” and stay with your phone
- Be prepared to answer questions, via text, use full words, keep messages concise
- Follow instructions from the 911 operator.
What-Comm 911 is not equipped to receive photos, videos or linked text via Text-to-911.
Officials with What-Comm 911 posted to their Facebook page, “If you are struggling to get through on a non-emergency number, please call from a landline phone.”
About 3:30pm, reports began that voice calling had been restored for some Verizon customers.
At 4:40pm, Verizon Support posted via Twitter that “A fiber issue caused some customers to experience intermittent call failures today.” They added that the issue had been resolved and “the majority of impacted customer should be seeing service as usual.”
This story was updated at 2:30pm to reflect that T-Mobile, AT&T and US Cellular customers were also reported to be encountering the same problems at the same time.