Rogers customers can’t make calls, use data in countrywide outage

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Rogers Communications Inc.’s chief technology officer is apologizing after a countrywide outage on Monday left many of its customers unable to make calls, text or use network data.

Outage hotspots appeared to be most concentrated in southern Ontario, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, according to downdetector.com, a website dedicated to tracking outage information for numerous internet-based services.

“Especially during these times, we know how important it is to stay connected and how much you rely on our services for work, school and staying in touch,” Jorge Fernandes said in a statement.

“The intermittent wireless service issues that started earlier this morning are unacceptable. On behalf of all of us here at Rogers, Rogers for Business, Fido, and chatr, I want to sincerely apologize for the significant impact and frustration that this has caused.”

Fernandes said the network problems began in the early morning and attributed it to a software update “that affected a piece of equipment in the central part of our wireless network. That led to intermittent congestion and service impacts for many customers across the country.”

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Rogers is continuing to work with the software company that is responsible for the update to fix the issue, however a timeline was not given as it could take several hours to have operations running smoothly again.

Instead, Fernandes encouraged customers to check Rogers’ website or social media for updates.

“It’s important that we bring wireless services back up gradually as we return to full service,” he said.

Numerous police departments across the country warned residents to stay on the line while making 911 calls.

Peel police, which services Brampton and Mississauga in Ontario, said the 911 system wasn’t down, as calls could still get through.

“We’re not down,” media relations officer Donna Maurice said. “We’re asking people not to hang up because we won’t be able to track who the person is.”

Calgary Police also urged callers to remain on the line in a tweet.

Toronto city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam said on Twitter that the remote fire alarm monitoring system for approximately 850 municipal buildings have been impacted, but the fire alarm systems themselves continue to remain functional.

—With additional reporting from Raghu Para

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