Verizon, the American telecommunications giant, has announced that the widespread mobile communication service interruption that affected multiple areas across the United States, including the New York region, has been completely resolved on Wednesday evening (January 14). The company also stated that all eligible affected users will receive a compensation of $20.
For customers still experiencing connection issues, Verizon advises trying to restart their devices to reconnect to the network. The company mentioned that compensation details will be notified through text messages, and customers can redeem it in the myVerizon application. For corporate clients, Verizon will directly contact them to explain the subsequent arrangements.
In a social media post on Wednesday evening, Verizon issued an apology, saying, “Today we have let down many customers, and for that, we are deeply sorry. Customers have higher expectations of us, and we understand that.”
The significant mobile communication service interruption occurred on Wednesday, affecting various regions across the United States. A large number of users in New York City and parts of New York State reported issues with making calls, sending texts, and using mobile data.
According to data from the communication fault monitoring website Downdetector, during the peak of the incident, over 175,000 users nationwide reported abnormal Verizon services, with over 10,000 cases reported in New York City.
Verizon stated that the service disruption issue had been resolved before 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The New York City Emergency Management Agency stated that they had not observed significant impacts on essential city services due to the communication interruption. However, they recommended affected Verizon users to utilize other telecommunications providers or landlines for emergency calls during communication blockages or directly contact police or fire departments to report emergencies.
The city government also mentioned that as of around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, no other telecommunication providers, including T-Mobile and AT&T, had reported any impacts. Citizens could also use the LinkNYC public information kiosks situated throughout the city for free calls, internet access, or make direct 911 calls.
Following this incident, Anil Beephan Jr., a state assembly member from Dutchess County, New York, wrote to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting an investigation into Verizon’s “ongoing and recurrent” service interruptions. In his letter, he pointed out that the issues had caused “unacceptable impacts” on public safety, including disruptions to emergency communications and vital emergency systems, inconveniencing residents and commercial activities.
The FCC responded on Wednesday evening, stating that they were aware and closely monitoring the service interruption situation but did not provide further comments on investigation matters.