AT&T subscribers affected by the February 22 service outage will receive a $5 credit. AT&T CEO John T. Stankey said the outage was due to technical issues as the carrier attempted to expand its network.

The outage began at around 3:30 a.m. local time and lasted for several hours. Some of the affected cities included Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York, according to Downdetector.com, a website that tracks reports of internet outages.

At its peak, the site received about 70,000 reports of AT&T outages. Service was fully restored after about seven hours.

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AT&T automatically added $5 credit to customer accounts for inconveniences encountered during the February 22 network outage. (Photo: Shutterstock)

CEO John T. Stankey apologized for the disappointment to many customers in a letter sent on February 25. In an effort to make amends, AT&T will issue a $5 credit to customers' AT&T Wireless accounts for the inconvenience.

AT&T also said it is “working closely” with its Mid-Market and Enterprise customers to address their concerns. It’s unclear how much the credits will amount to to offset lost revenue.

In a statement, AT&T stressed that the network outage was not caused by a cyberattack. According to initial assessments, the cause was the application and implementation of an incorrect procedure while expanding the network.

Massive outages like AT&T’s are not common in the U.S. In 2021, T-Mobile paid about $19.5 million to settle an FCC investigation after a 12-hour, 13-minute outage in June 2020.

It resulted in congestion on T-Mobile’s 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, causing more than 23,000 calls to 911 to go through. Additionally, the carrier must implement a compliance plan with new commitments to improve 911 notifications and provide status updates within two hours of initial notification.

(According to NYT, ABC News)