Verizon Outage Interrupts Being Connected Nationwide, Including 911
KEY POINTS
- •Verizon experienced a major service outage on Monday, affecting near 180,000 wireless and data customers by shortly after noon.
- •Emergency management agencies in New York City and Washington, D.C. issued alerts and advised using alternate communication methods for emergencies during the outage.
- •Verizon acknowledged the problem and assured full deployment of engineering teams but did not disclose the cause or timeline for resolution.
On Monday, starting at exactly noon (or a cruel joke on lunchtime texting), Verizon threw a tantrum affecting nearly 180,000 customers by 12:39 p.m., stretching from Washington D.C. and NYC’s emergency rooms to Portland's hipsters and San Francisco's tech zombies. Verizon’s noncommittal statement promised their 'engineering teams remain fully deployed' and are 'focused on the issue,' which apparently means advisors sorted real problems out of 'potential effects.' NYC and D.C. emergency offices urged citizens to borrow other carriers—best luck calling 911 when your phone is as useful as a rock. Verizon maintained radio silence with Business Insider just waiting on their next novel update.
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Verizon's nationwide blackout had everyone testing old-fashioned communication skills: yelling across rooms or finding landlines. Modern technology? Apparently optional today.
When Verizon drops service for nearly 180,000 on the East Coast and beyond, it’s proof phones are just expensive paperweights until the engineers negotiate a truce.
Calling 911 during a Verizon outage? Might as well carrier pigeon it—faster, more reliable, and less late-night hold music.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 1/14/2026 | Author: Lauren Edmonds
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