About a quarter of Canada’s internet service went down after a massive outage left millions of people without WiFi, ATMs or emergency services for 19 hours.
Rogers Telecommunications, which has more than 11 million mobile subscribers, said its network is gradually recovering after nearly all facets of life were disrupted on Friday when Canadians lost internet access, cellphone and landline phone connections following the outage.
Some callers were unable to reach emergency services via the 911 number, and police across Canada issued warnings to residents.
Canada’s Border Protection Agency said the outage also affected its mobile app for arriving travelers, while retailers’ cashless payment systems were down and banks reported problems with ATMs.
Many Canadians had to crowd into cafes and public libraries that still had internet access and hover outside hotels for a signal when they blew up Rogers, one of three telecommunications companies that dominate the country’s market.
Millions of Canadians lost access to the internet on Friday following a major outage at Rogers Communications, one of the country’s three major telecom giants. The blackout hit Canada’s densest cities, including Ottawa, Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal
Rogers Communications said it restored most of the service 19 hours after Friday morning’s outage, affecting its 11 million users
Many Canadians had to crowd into cafes to get online (pictured)
Netblocks, a network monitoring group, said the outage began Friday morning and crippled a quarter of the country’s connectivity
Netblocks, a network monitoring group, said the outage began Friday morning and crippled a quarter of the country’s connectivity before gradually recovering on Saturday.
Throughout the ordeal, Ottawa and Winnipeg police warned residents that they might have trouble connecting to 911 and urged them to try calling from landlines or cell phones from other providers.
Hospitals have also been affected as on-call medical workers at the Scarborough Health Network, which operates hospitals across Toronto, have been ordered to remain in hospitals until the problem is fully resolved, the BBC reported.
Court systems have had hiccups too, most notably the delay in hearing disgraced fashion mogul Peter Nygard, who was charged with 11 counts of sexual assault, because officers couldn’t connect him to a video conference.
In urban areas, people are flocking to cafes, community centers and other places with working public Wi-Fi.
“There are tons of people here with their laptops working like crazy just like they would at home because they don’t have service at home,” a Starbucks customer in Toronto told Reuters.
Rogers President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Staffieri apologized for the outage and said: “Today we let you down. We can and will do better.”
He added that the company has no timeline for when networks will be fully restored, “but we will continue to share information with our customers as we restore full services.”
He said affected customers would receive a credit.
A spokesman for Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday night that the outage was not the result of a cyberattack.
Ottawa and Winnipeg police warned residents they may have trouble connecting to 911 and urged them to try calling from landlines or cell phones from other providers
Pictured: People using public WiFi at a community center in Ontario
Many Canadians who were able to connect online took to social media to find out about the situation and the “monopoly” over their telecom systems.
A Twitter user by the name of Avi B. wrote: “The fact that if Rogers goes out, ATMs, cashless payment options, 911 services, internet and cell phones will be shut down across most of Canada should be the warning sign that Monopolies Canada put citizens at unnecessary risk.”
Another Twitter user by the name of Johnny echoed the complaints about a company that controls much of Canada’s connectivity.
“Canada is so dependent on a MONOPOL that today most of our population does not have access to the Internet, cell service, or even 911 – all thanks to Rogers,” he wrote.
“And we have to pay the highest internet bill in the G7 countries. End monopolies in Canada.’
Many who were able to get online berated Rogers for the outage, evoking the fact that the majority of Canadians depend on just three companies for telecommunications services
Canada’s Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne described the outage as “unacceptable”.
Birgit Uwaila Umaigba, an Ontario intensive care unit nurse, said hospital staff who were sick on Friday had no way of informing their colleagues that they would be away from home.
“Yesterday, sick staff had no way of notifying the hospital because Roger’s mass network was down,” she wrote. “They just didn’t show up. The patients suffered tremendously. So did the few employees present.
“Who else thinks it’s time to end the cell phone monopolies in Canada?
Canada’s Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne called the outage “unacceptable” and said he was talking to Rogers and heads of two other telecom giants, Bell and Telus, to rectify the situation.
“Spoke to the CEO of Rogers. Joined him in the frustration of millions of Canadians,” Champagne tweeted. “Also spoke to the CEOs of Bell and Telus. Everyone is in solve mode and ready to help.
‘This unacceptable situation is why quality, variety and reliability are key to our telecommunications network.’