FCC Seeks Public Input on Verizon's January Outage

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched an investigation into the outage experienced by Verizon on January 14 and is seeking feedback from customers, government bodies, and other interested parties.

Understanding the Situation

Verizon's response is under scrutiny, particularly regarding how the outage was communicated to customers and whether updates were timely and appropriate.

Evaluating the Outage's Impact

While Verizon is recognized as the largest carrier in terms of subscribers, the scope of the disruption may not have been as extensive as reported. The company attributed the outage to a software issue but did not provide detailed explanations. Speculation about a cyberattack has been dismissed by Verizon.

Industry analysts suggest that a failed update might have caused the incident, impacting approximately 1.5 million out of 90 million subscribers. However, the outage seemed widespread because it primarily affected customers in key demographics on the East Coast.

The FCC's concerns are notably heightened due to the implications for 911 calls. Typically, calls to emergency services remain operational even during carrier outages as phones connect to available networks for emergency communications.

In light of the outage, Verizon has offered account credits as a form of acknowledgment.

Need for Clarity

Verizon's attempt to downplay the impact of the outage highlights a broader issue in the telecom industry, where companies are often sluggish to report service interruptions. Customers frequently turn to social media for confirmation of outages. By holding Verizon accountable, the FCC could enhance the response mechanisms for future incidents.