AT&T's Network Outage Faces Scrutiny by FCC

In a recent investigation by the US government, AT&T has been put under the spotlight for a significant network outage that occurred on February 22, 2024. The outage, which affected 125 million devices including AT&T customers, roaming users, and other service providers using AT&T's network, blocked a staggering 92 million calls, with 25,000 attempts to connect to 911 emergency services failing due to the network's failure.

Investigation Highlights Lack of Proper Testing

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found that AT&T did not follow best practices for network changes. The disruption lasted over 12 hours and had far-reaching effects, even impacting public safety communications on the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The outage was traced back to a configuration error that occurred just minutes after an update related to network expansion was implemented, causing the entire network to enter 'protect mode' and disconnect all devices.

FCC Calls for Accountability and Prevention

The FCC has accused AT&T of inadequate peer reviews, insufficient lab testing, and a lack of safeguards that could have prevented the massive outage. AT&T has been proactive in taking steps to avoid future outages, but the FCC has referred the case to its Enforcement Bureau, which could lead to potential violations of FCC rules. FCC Chairwoman Jessia Rosenworcel stressed the critical need for reliable network service, particularly in emergency situations, and assured that they are working towards accountability and the prevention of similar incidents.