A cell phone tower is seen in Redondo Beach, California on February 22, 2024. The outage left tens of thousands of customers in cities across the country without phone signal overnight.
Eric Thayer | Getty Images News | Getty Images
“This is not our last.”
AT&T’s outage on Thursday knocked out service to tens of thousands of customers, leaving them unable to access Wi-Fi and use their cell phones. The company said this was not a cyberattack, but the result of an internal error while AT&T was working to expand its network.
AT&T is providing consumer and small business customers “who were most impacted by the outage” “compensation for the inconvenience they experienced,” CEO John Stankey said. I wrote this in my Sunday letter.
“This is not the first time we have experienced a network outage, and it will not be the last. Unfortunately, this is the reality of our business,” he wrote.
AT&T says it accounts for the average cost of a full day’s service.
The credit does not apply to AT&T Business Enterprise and Platinum accounts, AT&T Prepaid, or Cricket, the company’s lower-cost service, the company said. Stankey said affected prepaid customers “have options available to them,” but did not provide further details.
No need to wait for your provider
“My advice to consumers is if you’ve been affected by this, don’t wait for AT&T to decide. ” he said. Consumers Federation.
“Call me and say, ‘I was inspired by this and I want to make sure I get the credit,'” he added.
Consumers who don’t want to call customer service may also be able to connect with their provider’s online portal or chatbot for a faster resolution, he said.
Of course, telephone and internet companies apply such credits voluntarily, Blayault said. In contrast, federal law governing the airline industry gives consumers the right to a refund if, for example, a flight is cancelled. Blayault said similar consumer protections do not appear to exist in the wireless field.
In January, the Federal Communications Commission proposed a rule that would require rebates to consumers who face cable or satellite TV subscriptions being cut off.
Weinstock said “it’s about time” for consumers to ask for refunds. “But always contact your carrier and say, ‘There was an outage. It’s not my fault. You owe me money. You should cover this cost.’ I think it’s worth it.”