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On Thursday, Feb. 24, 2023, a significant number of Americans are facing cellular data issues nationwide. Multiple service providers such as Verizon, Cricket, and T-Mobile are experiencing service outages, but according to the 11 a.m. ‘Today Show,’ AT&T was the most affected overnight.
According to AP News, the outages began as early as 3:30 a.m., with over 58,000 cellular data crashes and 73,300 reported complaints since noon. With cell phones being a necessity for many individuals’ daily functions, and living in a digital-centric age, the lack of access to functioning wireless service has caused issues for users all over the nation including both major and local cities such as Atlanta, Houston, and Tallahassee, Florida.
Kevin Houston, a Tallahassee resident and AT&T customer, states how not having access to cellular data has disrupted his day and ability to work effectively.
“I will not be able to make money, nor can I communicate with any of my kids,” Houston said. “Everything is done on your phone. My phone is down and all my information is on here. My bank account; Cash App, it’s all gone,” Houston added.
The inaccessibility to cellular service has caused issues outside of daily work and communication. Individuals are struggling to navigate local cities without access to a global positioning system (GPS).
Kameka Banks, a new Tallahassee resident originally from Auburn, Georgia, explains her difficulty finding her way around Tallahassee without her GPS.
“I have not been able to use my GPS,” Banks said. “I have been here for a little over a year and still have trouble getting to certain places.”
Banks went on to explain how she is concerned about how she would be able to respond if an emergency took place during the outage.
“Luckily I homeschool my child, but hopefully nothing goes wrong during the time frame of this outage because I do not know who I could reach or how I would get to them,’ Banks said. ‘This is not something I could deal with long term.”
According to the ‘Today Show,’ the reason for the outages is unknown, but the crashing of these service providers is creating issues as far as difficulty reaching emergency services.
Jack Coghlan, AT&T store manager at the Tallahassee location on Tennessee St., was unable to give a statement at this time but advised individuals to contact their corporate Media Relations Team at (972) 743-3925.
As of 1:37 p.m., AT&T has no update on when customers should expect cellular data services to be restored.