(WTAQ-WLUK) — A widespread outage that Cellcom hoped would be just temporary is now looking to be longer-lasting.
The outage began Wednesday night and continued throughout the day Thursday and so far into Friday, leaving many customers unable to make phone calls or send text messages. Around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Cellcom issued its latest update, saying users may have to wait a while longer before things get back to normal.
“We want to be upfront with you — what we hoped would be a short-term issue is now looking like a longer recovery. Our teams and partners continue working around the clock on a complex technical issue affecting voice and SMS services,” the statement from Cellcom reads.
Although data, mobile/landline internet, iMessage and RCS are still working for most users, number porting is currently unavailable.
Officials recommend customers enable applications and services that leverage their data network, such as iMessaging, RCS messaging or 3rd party applications such as Whatsapp and FaceTime, to stay connected.
We know how disruptive this is — and how unacceptable it feels. You rely on us, and we’re not meeting that standard right now. We’re truly sorry.
Our teams are here to support you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.
Thank you for sticking with us. Your encouragement and feedback mean more than you know — and we won’t stop until this is resolved.
Customers have expressed the difficulty of not being able to make phone calls or send text messages.
“You don’t realize how much you take for granted these things until they’re not there,” Green Bay customer David Williams said. “Not even being able to contact your family or friends, or anything like that. It’s been really frustrating.”
Williams has been a Cellcom customer for about a decade, but is now looking to switch providers after the hours-long service interruption. Williams is also a student at NWTC in Green Bay. He said having cell service is crucial for his student logins — at a time when he’s trying to register for the fall semester.
“It’s an authorization process, so you try to login and then you need to verify, and the verify is through a text message, and the only other option is a phone call, and neither one of those services work right now,” Williams said.
Click here for updates on the situation.
Other Cellcom customers, like Lisa Palmer, rely on their phones for work. Palmer uses her phone to deliver for both Instacart and DoorDash, where cell phone coverage is a must.
“Definitely curtailed my income today, and affecting what I’m choosing,” Palmer said. “I’m doing okay, but I have a quota to make for myself and to help support my family and medical bills, so that’s why I work.”
Cellcom assured customers that 911 emergency services are fully available during the outage.
Many businesses, organizations and schools also rely on Cellcom’s coverage. The Village of Ashwaubenon, the Ashwaubenon School District and Oconto Falls School District all reported their phone lines are down because of the outage.
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