WASHINGTON, D.C. ― Verizon Communications’ US wireless network remained down late Wednesday evening for many users in the United States, prompting several major cities to advise residents to use other carriers to call emergency services.
With the outage more than seven hours old, the carrier said it was still working to fix the problem but saw no indication of a cyberattack.
The company did not disclose the scope of the disruption. But Downdetector, which aggregates data on service outages, said more than 180,000 reports had been submitted at the peak, while some media outlets said more than a million customers may have been affected.
“Our teams remain fully deployed and are focused on the issue,” Verizon said. “We... remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible.”
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr told Reuters after a congressional hearing the agency will review the issue “and take appropriate action.” Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said she would ask the agency to investigate.
New York City told residents the outage could affect some users trying to call 911 for emergency help. “Call using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police/fire station to report emergencies,” the city said on X. The District of Columbia issued a similar alert.
Some Verizon customers posted frantic messages on social media seeking updates on service restoration.
Verizon faced a nationwide wireless outage in late 2024 that impacted over 100,000 users at its peak. The outage drew the FCC’s attention after several services were affected and iPhone users were stuck in “SOS” mode.
