AT&T has declared its intention to compensate customers for the nearly 12-hour network disruption on Thursday.
According to the company, the outage was caused by a mistake made while AT&T was growing its network. As a result, AT&T says they’ll give a $5 credit to affected customers, which is reportedly what a day of service costs.
“We recognize the frustration this outage has caused and know we let many of our customers down,” AT&T said. “We understand this may have impacted their ability to connect with family, friends, and others. Small business owners may have been impacted, potentially disrupting an essential way they connect with customers.”
Additionally, the credit will not be extended to customers enrolled in AT&T’s Business or Prepaid plans, nor to individuals with Cricket Wireless accounts.
The network disruption meant many people across the country couldn’t make calls, send texts, use the internet, or get emergency help. Prior to this, AT&T had other issues like temporary 911 problems in parts of the southeast.
Although localized disruptions to wireless service occur periodically, extended nationwide outages are uncommon. On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission affirmed that it was investigating the incident. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also announced its collaboration with AT&T to comprehend the outage’s cause and effects, offering assistance as required.
Following the restoration, AT&T issued an update suggesting that the outage appeared to stem from an internal issue rather than a cybersecurity threat.
