Verizon subscribers complained that the outage limited their ability to use their mobile devices, preventing them from making calls or completing online transactions that require a wireless network.
To appease frustrated subscribers, the wireless provider said it’s giving those customers a $20 credit.
“Yesterday, we did not meet the standard of excellence our customers expect and that we expect of ourselves,” Verizon said in a statement to CBS News. “To help provide some relief to those affected, we are giving customers a $20 account credit that can be easily redeemed by logging into the myVerizon app to accept. On average, this covers multiple days of service. Our business customers will be contacted directly about their credits.”
Verizon added that the “credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging our customers’ time and showing that this matters to us.”
The company said that while the outage has been resolved, customers who continue to experience issues should restart their devices to reconnect to the network.
Verizon did not indicate how many customers were affected, but Downdetector, which tracks such outages, showed that up to 180,000 users across the U.S. reported issues with the mobile network on Wednesday.
Verizon’s network is experiencing technical issues that are impacting calls and wireless data. Verizon customers on X have reported seeing “SOS” rather than the traditional network bars on their smartphones, and even the network provider’s own status page struggled to load, likely due to the number of customers trying to access it.
Based on the experience of Verizon users on Engadget’s staff, the services that are impacted appear to be calls and wireless data. Text messages continue to be delivered normally, at least for some users. On DownDetector, reports of a Verizon outage started growing around 12PM ET and numbered in the hundreds of thousands at their peak.
DownDetector also shows spikes in outage reports on competing networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, but in terms of magnitude, they’re much smaller than the issue Verizon is facing. For example, Verizon peaked at 181,769 reports, while AT&T’s was just 1,769 reports. The difference between the two is great enough that those AT&T reports could be from people trying to contact Verizon customers and thinking that their personal network was the problem.
In a post on the cell provider’s news account on X, Verizon acknowledged the issues with its network. “We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers,” Verizon wrote. “Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience.”
Based on DownDetector’s map of outage reports, issues with Verizon’s network appear to be concentrated in major cities in the eastern United States. The majority of reports appear to be coming out of Boston, New York and Washington DC, though the map also shows growing hot spots in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
At 2:14PM ET, Verizon shared on X that its engineering teams “remain fully deployed” to work on fixing the outage. The company didn’t share when the issue would resolved or how many of its customers are currently impacted. Reports on DownDetector have dropped since their peak at 12:43PM ET, but thousands of Verizon customers are still noticing issues with the service.
As of 3:09PM ET, Verizon has yet to share more information about the recovery of the company’s cell network. Some Verizon customers on X have noticed their cell service returning, but it’s not clear if this means the network’s technical issues have been fixed.
At 4:06PM ET, nearly two hours since the company’s last statement, at least one member of Engadget’s staff reports their service has been restored. The connectivity issues are still affecting Verizon customers, however. DownDetector received over 55,000 outage reports as recently as 3:47PM ET.
Verizon posted at 4:12PM ET that work continues on addressing the outage, but the issue hasn’t been completely fixed. According to the company, its team is “on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers.”
As of 4:52PM ET, the Verizon’s network has been experiencing issues for around four hours, making today’s outage nearly as long as the last major outage the company had in 2024. Like that 2024 outage, Verizon has yet to share what exactly is causing the issues with its network. Without out an official update, it’s safe to assume the company is still working on a fix.
At 5:41PM ET, DownDetector latest tally still shows over 46,000 people reporting issues with Verizon’s network. Based on the platform’s map, the same cities are filing the bulk of the outage reports, though reporting appears more diffuse than before as news of the outage has spread across the country.
At 6:20PM ET, the situation was much the same. Tens of thousands of users (including Engadget editors) still don’t have proper service, and Verizon had not updated its customers since 4:12PM ET. There are intermittent reports of service coming back and then failing again but seemingly no true fix has been deployed.
At 10:20PM ET, Verizon has announced that the outage has been resolved and has encouraged subscribers still having issues to restart their devices to reconnect to the network. The company also said that it will provide account credits to affected customers.
Both T-Mobile and AT&T have confirmed that their own networks are unaffected by the issues facing their competitor. In a post on X, T-Mobile shared that its network is “operating normally and as expected.” Meanwhile, AT&T says that for any of its customers experiencing issues, “it’s not us…it’s the other guys.”
Update, January 14, 7:25PM ET: This article was published as a developing story and was updated multiple times over a period of around seven hours. These updates were additive, and noted with a timestamp within the article. As of writing, Verizon is still down for tens of thousands of users and the company’s support team has not issued an update on the stituation in over three hours. Happy Wednesday!
Update January 14, 10:39PM ET: This story has been updated to add Verizon’s latest update that the outage has been resolved.
Verizon’s network is experiencing technical issues that are impacting calls and wireless data. Verizon customers on X have reported seeing “SOS” rather than the traditional network bars on their smartphones, and even the network provider’s own status page struggled to load, likely due to the number of customers trying to access it.
Based on the experience of Verizon users on Engadget’s staff, the services that are impacted appear to be calls and wireless data. Text messages continue to be delivered normally, at least for some users. On DownDetector, reports of a Verizon outage started growing around 12PM ET and numbered in the hundreds of thousands at their peak.
DownDetector also shows spikes in outage reports on competing networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, but in terms of magnitude, they’re much smaller than the issue Verizon is facing. For example, Verizon peaked at 181,769 reports, while AT&T’s was just 1,769 reports. The difference between the two is great enough that those AT&T reports could be from people trying to contact Verizon customers and thinking that their personal network was the problem.
In a post on the cell provider’s news account on X, Verizon acknowledged the issues with its network. “We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers,” Verizon wrote. “Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience.”
Based on DownDetector’s map of outage reports, issues with Verizon’s network appear to be concentrated in major cities in the eastern United States. The majority of reports appear to be coming out of Boston, New York and Washington DC, though the map also shows growing hot spots in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
At 2:14PM ET, Verizon shared on X that its engineering teams “remain fully deployed” to work on fixing the outage. The company didn’t share when the issue would resolved or how many of its customers are currently impacted. Reports on DownDetector have dropped since their peak at 12:43PM ET, but thousands of Verizon customers are still noticing issues with the service.
As of 3:09PM ET, Verizon has yet to share more information about the recovery of the company’s cell network. Some Verizon customers on X have noticed their cell service returning, but it’s not clear if this means the network’s technical issues have been fixed.
At 4:06PM ET, nearly two hours since the company’s last statement, at least one member of Engadget’s staff reports their service has been restored. The connectivity issues are still affecting Verizon customers, however. DownDetector received over 55,000 outage reports as recently as 3:47PM ET.
Verizon posted at 4:12PM ET that work continues on addressing the outage, but the issue hasn’t been completely fixed. According to the company, its team is “on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers.”
As of 4:52PM ET, the Verizon’s network has been experiencing issues for around four hours, making today’s outage nearly as long as the last major outage the company had in 2024. Like that 2024 outage, Verizon has yet to share what exactly is causing the issues with its network. Without out an official update, it’s safe to assume the company is still working on a fix.
At 5:41PM ET, DownDetector latest tally still shows over 46,000 people reporting issues with Verizon’s network. Based on the platform’s map, the same cities are filing the bulk of the outage reports, though reporting appears more diffuse than before as news of the outage has spread across the country.
At 6:20PM ET, the situation was much the same. Tens of thousands of users (including Engadget editors) still don’t have proper service, and Verizon had not updated its customers since 4:12PM ET. There are intermittent reports of service coming back and then failing again but seemingly no true fix has been deployed.
Both T-Mobile and AT&T have confirmed that their own networks are unaffected by the issues facing their competitor. In a post on X, T-Mobile shared that its network is “operating normally and as expected.” Meanwhile, AT&T says that for any of its customers experiencing issues, “it’s not us…it’s the other guys.”
Update, January 14, 7:25PM ET: This article was published as a developing story and was updated multiple times over a period of around seven hours. These updates were additive, and noted with a timestamp within the article. As of writing, Verizon is still down for tens of thousands of users and the company’s support team has not issued an update on the stituation in over three hours. Happy Wednesday!
Verizon users report widespread outage for ‘wireless voice and data services’
RECOMMENDED. ONCE MEN REACH BIDEN’S AGE. I THINK YOUR CELL PHONE BILL IS TOO HIGH. YOU ARE PROBABLY RIGHT. CONSUMER REPORTS SAYS YOU COULD SAVE HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE COVERAGE OR RELIABILITY YOU DEPEND ON. FOR YEARS, DAVID MORGAN STUCK WITH VERIZON, EVEN AS HIS MONTHLY BILL KEPT CLIMBING. LIKE MANY OF US, HE WAS PAYING MORE THAN HE WANTED FOR CELL PHONE SERVICE. I FELT STUCK, BUT AFTER 12 YEARS, ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. DAVID SAID HE WAS THROUGH PAYING FOR EXTRAS HE DIDN’T NEED. I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY I WAS PAYING SO MUCH. I COULDN’T GET CLARITY IN TERMS OF WHAT EXACTLY I WAS PAYING FOR. IT’S A COMMON ISSUE. THE BIG THREE WIRELESS NETWORKS VERIZON, AT&T AND T-MOBILE DOMINATE THE MARKET. BUT CONSUMER REPORTS SAYS THERE ARE OTHER CHEAPER OPTIONS, AND SWITCHING TO A SMALLER ONE LIKE DAVID DID CAN SAVE YOU SERIOUS MONEY. THESE SMALLER PROVIDERS, CALLED MVNOS, CAN CHARGE LESS FOR SERVICE SINCE THEY RENT SPACE ON THE SAME NETWORKS BUILT AND MAINTAINED BY THE BIG THREE U.S. MOBILE, CONSUMER, CELLULAR, AND TING. TOP RATINGS BEATING OUT THE BIG GUYS ON VALUE AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT TO FIND THE BEST DEAL FOR YOU. CHECK YOUR BILL OR YOUR PHONE SETTINGS TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH DATA YOU USE EACH MONTH. YOU MAY BE PAYING FOR MORE THAN YOU NEED. SMALLER COMPANIES TYPICALLY OFFER MORE OPTIONS, INCLUDING LOWER DATA PLANS, AND SOME EVEN LET YOU ADD ON DATA AS NEEDED. ALSO, PICK THE BEST PROVIDER FOR YOUR AREA. CHOOSE AN MVNO THAT USES THE SAME NETWORK. IF YOU GET GREAT SERVICE. NOW, PEOPLE OFTEN WORRY ABOUT SLOWDOWNS WITH A SMALLER CARRIER, BUT YOU PROBABLY WON’T NOTICE A DIFFERENCE. TO KEEP YOUR PHONE NUMBER, ACTIVATE YOUR NEW PLAN BEFORE CANCELING THE OLD ONE. MAKE SURE YOUR PHONE IS PAID OFF, UNLOCKED, AND COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR NEW PROVIDER. YOU’LL LIKELY NEED TO INSTALL A NEW SIM CARD OR ESIM. IT ONLY TAKES A FEW SIMPLE STEPS TO START SAVING, AND FOR DAVID, THE SWITCH LED TO EVEN BIGGER CHANGES. WHEN I MADE THE SWITCH FROM VERIZON TO TING, IT INSPIRED ME TO LOOK AT OTHER BILLS THAT I HAD, AND THAT INCLUDED MY INTERNET AND TV BILL AND THE SAVINGS. BY SWITCHING, KEEP ADDING UP. ALL RIGHT. THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER KIND OF NO BRAINER COST SAVINGS OUT THERE, SO MAKE SURE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE. THINGS LIKE ENROLLING IN PAPERLESS OR AUTOMATIC BILLING AND SIGNING UP FO
Verizon users report widespread outage for ‘wireless voice and data services’
Verizon users reported widespread outages on Wednesday afternoon.The telecommunications company acknowledged the outage on social media.”We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly,” the statement read. “We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience.”According to Downdetector, at 12:42 p.m. ET, about 180,000 users reported experiencing issues with Verizon’s services.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Verizon users reported widespread outages on Wednesday afternoon.
The telecommunications company acknowledged the outage on social media.
“We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly,” the statement read. “We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience.”
According to Downdetector, at 12:42 p.m. ET, about 180,000 users reported experiencing issues with Verizon’s services.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Telecom giant Verizon has begun laying off some 13,000 employees as part of a new reorganization initiative. Approximately a week ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Verizon was considering job cuts. Now, the layoffs have begun, according to an email viewed by Gizmodo.
“Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition,” wrote Verizon’s new-ish CEO, Dan Schulma, in an email sent Thursday and shared with Gizmodo (the Journal originally reported on the email). “We must reorient our entire company around delivering for and delighting our customers,” the top executive added.
Yes, to “delight” customers, the company must apparently very much not delight its workforce. Schulman, who took over the top spot in October, said in the email that the layoffs would reduce Verizon’s “outsourced and outside labor expenses.” To help the workers who are losing their jobs, Verizon has established a $20 million Reskilling and Career Transition Fund, Schulman said. This fund will “focus on skill development, digital training and job placement to help our people take their next steps,” he shared.
The CEO added that technological change was sweeping through the economy. “Changes in technology and in the economy are impacting the workforce across all industries,” he wrote. “Change is necessary, but it can be difficult—especially when it affects valued teammates. It’s important that we direct our energy and resources to set Verizon on a path to success. The actions we’re taking are designed to make us faster and more focused, positioning our company to deliver for our customers while continuing to capture new growth opportunities.”
When it comes to job security, this has been a tough year for tech workers. Amazon recently announced 14,000 layoffs, Accenture and Synopsis have announced thousands of layoffs, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Oracle have made similarly dour announcements, and Intel has promised to reduce its workforce by a whopping 25,000. There are many other tech companies that have made similar moves over the last twelve months.
Yes, lots and lots of people are getting fired right now, and, according to reports, it’s increasingly difficult for entry-level workers to find positions. Some people blame AI (which is promising to help America’s C-suite gut certain segments of their corporate workforce) while others merely blame our shitty economy, which seems to be suffering under the yoke of the Trump administration’s dopy fiscal policies. There’s no reason why both can’t be to blame. Whatever the cause, one thing is clear: Silicon Valley is in its downsizing era, and it’s not so much fun.
Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said in a Nov. 20 letter to employees that the wireless telecom is cutting 13,000 employees, or about 13% of its workforce, as it seeks to “evolve as a company” by slashing costs and restructuring operations.
The company employed 99,600 workers at the end of 2024, according to its most recent annual report.
“Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition,” prompting the need to “evolve as a company,” Schulman wrote in the letter, which was posted on Verizon’s website.
Schulman, who was tapped to lead Verizon in October after serving as a board member since 2018, is charged with integrating Frontier Communications after its $20 billion purchase is set to close in early 2026. Verizon said the deal, which was announced in 2024, will support its push into artificial intelligence as well as connected smart devices.
Before stepping in as Verizon’s CEO, Schulman served as PayPal’s chief executive and held senior leadership roles at AT&T, Priceline, Virgin Mobile and American Express.
I know there are bigger fish to fry, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't draw your attention to this travesty of a commercial Verizon just released. It's only 30 seconds long but may go down as one of the worst ads I've ever seen.
What’s so offensive, you ask? Well, the carrier (and one-time parent company of Engadget) wants to promote the fact that it will give AT&T and T-Mobile customers a better deal on their wireless plan if they bring in their monthly cellular bill. That's all well and good, but we need to talk about the cathode-ray tube TV that's at the center of the commercial.
The ad opens with a woman walking into a Best Buy-coded store and handing over a 27-inch CRT TV to a nearby sales associate. "Hi, I got this old thing and the bill from the store where I got it," she tells the young salesperson while casually tossing the TV to him. "Figured you could beat it with a better deal on one of these big boys," she adds, pointing to, let’s be honest, an objectively worse flat panel TV.
Now, I need to know: did anyone who worked on this commercial try to lift a CRT? Look, I know it's 2025, and even the newest sets are now close to two decades old, but even if you've never seen one in real-life, surely you've heard how heavy they are? If I had to guess, the TV we see in the commercial, which looks like an RCA 27R411T, weighs close to 75 pounds. There's a reason so many Facebook Marketplace listings recommend you bring a friend with you when you come pick up the CRT they're selling; most people can't lift even a mid-sized set on their own.
I hate to think how Verizon made this commercial. CRTs are a dead technology. No company is making new consumer sets anymore, and any working CRTs left out in the world are on borrowed time. If the company gutted a working set to make this commercial, it means there’s one less CRT in an ever-dwindling pool. Someone could have enjoyed that TV and stopped it from entering a landfill.
But as for the rest of the commercial, it’s equally as bad. No big box retailer is accepting trade-ins for a CRT TV, and even if they were, trying to get rid of one that way would be a rookie move. CRTs, both TVs and monitors, are highly sought after by retro gamers. Even a relatively unknown set like the 27R411T can catch a few hundred dollars, especially if it's in pristine condition. In fact, a quick eBay search returns a seller looking for $350 for their 27R411T unit.
But you know what our dear Verizon booster does? She just walks away without the CRT after the salesperson tells her the shop won't give her a better deal on a new TV. "Guess you're not as cool as Verizon" she says, uttering a thing no one in the history has ever said. Sorry, joke's on you, lady. Not only is that TV impossibly light, it's way cooler than anything Verizon has ever done.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/verizons-latest-ad-defies-crt-physics-202441012.html?src=rss
According to Downdetector, a website that monitors service provision failures, the outage has been widespread, hitting users in cities including New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix and Atlanta.
Data published by Downdetector showed the number of people reporting outages exploded at around midnight ET, hitting a peak of 1,244 reports at 0.56 a.m. ET.
Downdetector reported that 50 percent of problems reported by Verizon users involved cell phones, while 32 percent were about 5G home internet.
It is an immutable rule of the tech world that once something becomes widely used, better technology will come along. In the mobile space, 5G is just coming of age, but the companies that power telecom providers are already laying the groundwork for 6G communications.
That might seem ridiculously early, especially since 5G really hasn’t hit its full stride yet, but it’s actually right on time. The first 3G networks appeared in 2001—and while those speeds seem almost archaic to us today, they were lightning fast at the turn of the century. By 2009, 4G made its debut, and telecom companies began switching over to that. 5G entered the scene at the end of 2018.
To be clear, there’s no need to look for a 6G phone now. You won’t find one. In fact, it will be another three years before the earliest next-generation mobile technology is even ready, according to Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon.
Speaking at the company’s Snapdragon Summit, Amon put a timeline on 6G, predicting the technology will offer faster internet speeds and integration with the artificial intelligence of the late 2020s and 2030s. 6G, he said, will force researchers to shift their architecture framework, requiring new memory systems and advanced neural processing units to handle the AI workload.
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Even with its expected 2028 debut, 6G as a standard is a good way away. Amon said that year is when he expects the first “pre-commercial devices” to roll out, meaning it could be 2030 or so before telecom companies begin pushing 6G to customers.
Don’t expect 6G to just be about phones. In fact, as Amon sees it, the smartphone will act more as a hub serving other technology. Devices like smartwatches and smart glasses are expected to evolve, working with the phone to do everything from handle apps like your calendar and paying your bills to offering live-time information as you walk about. Cars will use the technology as well, supplementing the processing power on your phone.
“The amount of data will dwarf the existence of models,” Amon said.
It’s worth noting that Qualcomm has a vested interest in the success of these connected products. The company’s chips currently power Android smartphones, Google’s Pixel Watch 4, Meta’s Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, and Xreal’s upcoming “Project Aura,” another line of smart glasses.
The big X factor when it comes to 6G and its integration with AI is the consumer. While AI usage continues to rise, many people still believe the technology is not dependable. A KPMG survey earlier this year found that 66 percent of people regularly use AI, but only 46 percent of people overall were willing to trust AI systems.
A separate report from Pew Research found that adults in the U.S. were pessimistic about AI’s impact on users. Some 52 percent said they thought AI would worsen creativity, and nearly as many thought it would worsen people’s ability to form relationships.
While 6G is still several years away, Qualcomm’s not the only company talking about it. Earlier this month, Verizon hosted the 6G Innovation Forum, bringing together companies like Meta, Samsung, Ericsson and more to identify new use cases for the technology, as well as new devices and network technology.
“5G Advanced lays the foundation for the 6G future – whether that’s new wearables, AI experiences, or entirely new use cases we haven’t even thought of yet, and that’s what excites me the most,” said Joe Russo, EVP & president of global networks and technology at Verizon in a statement.
Verizon is offering some good deals on home internet such as a free nintendo switch and a $250 Amazon giftcard and a $200 Verizon giftcard
Our Verdict
Need to keep the service for at least 180 days, otherwise they deduct the value of the free gifts. Not everybody has the same offers. Even with paying for the service you should end up well ahead if you have one of the better offers. Feel free to share where you’re located and what you were offered in the comments below.
A proposal to install a wireless cellphone tower near a tennis court at a Fairfax County community swim and tennis club has divided residents in the Mantua neighborhood of the Northern Virginia suburb.
A proposal to install a wireless cellphone tower near a tennis court at a Fairfax County community swim and tennis club has divided residents in the Mantua neighborhood of Northern Virginia.
On Tuesday, the Mantua Swim and Tennis Club is scheduled to host a meeting for its 600 member households to vote on a plan that would allow Verizon to install a 150-foot wireless tower next to a tennis court.
The scheduled vote is for a proposed bylaw amendment. Verizon would need to get zoning approval from the county if members vote to advance the proposal.
In a statement, the club said it has provided independent studies and detailed responses to anticipated questions to its member households. The plan, it said, would help improve service for Verizon customers, something some residents have advocated for.
But other club members, and residents of surrounding neighborhoods, fear the tower would be an eyesore and decrease their property values. Some have posted on neighborhood Facebook pages wondering about possible health effects of living near the tower.
“This is a situation of concentrated cost to a small number of people and diffused, very minor benefits to other people,” said Jason Brennan, who lives in Mantua and has already voted against the project. “It’s like a bunch of us are going to be looking at this really ugly thing for a long time. It will devalue our property, and in exchange, our pool club gets a small amount of money and a number of other people have slightly better cellphone coverage.”
By leasing the club property for the tower, the Mantua Swim and Tennis Club would get rent every month and extra funds for future carriers that choose to utilize the tower, according to its website. The project won’t include strobe or beacon lighting, the club said, and Verizon will ultimately pay for it to be removed.
The club’s property includes land in both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. The tower would be built on land within Fairfax County.
Matt Mullin, president of the Mantua Citizens Association, said while the group doesn’t have an official position on the proposal, “Mantua is a hilly, forested community of about 1,600 homes. Cell service can be poor because of those beautiful trees and hills, and people have experienced dropped calls.”
Some houses already have red signs on their lawns urging neighbors to vote against the idea, “for health, safety and property values,” the signs said.
“This is imposing a significant cost on the value of my property, and I don’t want to bear that just because you’re not willing to get on the phone and take a $25 bonus to switch carriers to get one that works,” Brennan said.
Neighboring support
A proposal to install a wireless cellphone tower near a tennis court at a Fairfax County community swim and tennis club has divided residents in the Mantua neighborhood of Northern Virginia.
(WTOP/Scott Gelman)
WTOP/Scott Gelman
(WTOP/Scott Gelman)
WTOP/Scott Gelman
The Mantua Swim Club in Virginia
(WTOP/Scott Gelman)
WTOP/Scott Gelman
In a statement, the sports club said only members are voting because it’s a “private, member-owned club. Under Virginia law and our bylaws, only members have legal voting rights on club business.”
But nearby community members have concerns too. In a letter, the Board of Directors of the Pickett’s Reserve neighborhood said the tower would “essentially be in the backyard of several of our homes.” There are about 90 homes in Pickett’s Reserve, the letter said.
“While both neighborhoods would benefit from increased cellphone coverage, we certainly would not do so at the expense of the existing tranquility that is currently shared by both of our communities,” the letter said.
In a separate letter, the Stockbridge Homeowners’ Association board said it surveyed some of its residents and found some are supportive of improved service and the funding that the tower would generate for the pool community. Others worried “the construction of the tower could be dangerous to people playing tennis and those living close to the site,” the letter said.
Brennan said the circumstances have “really made me lose a lot of respect for my neighbors. These people do what I call ‘pearl clutching.’ Pearl clutching is when you talk in a passive aggressive tone and then when someone challenges you, you clutch your pearls and go, ‘I can’t believe you’re talking that way.’”
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Verizon said thousands of people who were affected nationwide by a massive outage now have service back.
If your Verizon-backed phone was out most of yesterday or even still down today, you weren’t alone. The company said the blackout was caused by a “software issue” but did not respond to a request to elaborate on what exactly that meant.
Verizon officials assured customers that their engineers were actively engaged in diagnosing and resolving the service disruption. By early evening, the company announced that service was beginning to stabilize in affected regions.
According to Downdetector data, most networks in the New York City, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, the Bay Area, and other major urban centers had been restored by 7:30 p.m. PDT, though a residual few hundred reports of outages persisted nationwide into midnight.
Users were not happy about Verizon’s outage
The company advised customers to monitor their network status online for updates.
Verizon officials emphasized that their engineering teams were actively engaged in diagnosing and resolving the widespread service outage that impacted thousands of customers across the United States.
In a statement released Saturday afternoon, the company assured affected users that corrective measures were underway and that efforts to restore normal service were a top priority.
“Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue,” Verizon said, as it scramble to assuage customers amid mounting frustration on social media.
By early evening, Verizon reported signs of progress, with service beginning to stabilize in key affected regions.
According to the company, network restoration efforts had started to yield positive results, particularly in metropolitan areas where the outage had been most severe.
Despite the progress, the company acknowledged that some users continued to experience issues, and reports of outages persisted into the late evening hours.
What the heck happened
The outage was first reported around midday, with thousands of customers taking to social media to complain about their phones being stuck in “SOS” mode since Saturday morning.
Many users expressed frustration over the slow pace of Verizon’s response, with some criticizing the company for not providing more timely and transparent updates.
The outage appeared to be concentrated in densely populated urban centers, where mobile connectivity is critical for both personal and professional communication.
Verizon’s spokesperson advised customers to check their network status online and provided reassurance that service restoration was ongoing. The company noted that efforts to identify and rectify the underlying software issue were still in progress, and that they expected further improvements in the coming hours.
By midnight, reports indicated that only a few hundred users nationwide were still experiencing service disruptions, suggesting that Verizon’s technicians were making significant headway in their recovery efforts.
Overall, the outage underscored the vulnerabilities inherent in even the most sophisticated telecommunications networks, and highlighted the importance of rapid, transparent communication during service disruptions.
Customers and industry observers alike will be watching closely to see how Verizon manages similar incidents in the future, particularly in terms of response times and customer service.
Verizon customers across the U.S. Saturday reported issues with the network on their cellphones, with some saying that their devices have been limited to SOS mode for several hours.
In a statement to CBS News, Verizon said it was aware of a “software issue impacting wireless service for some customers.”
“Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue,” the statement read. “Please visit our Check Network Status page for updates on service in your area. We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience. We appreciate your patience.”
Outages were reported from California to Florida, according to complaints on social media and DownDetector, a site that tracks service outages for telecommunications providers, websites and other businesses.
“Verizon is making it seem as if only ‘some customers are affected.’ That’s not true,” one customer who said their entire family uses the company’s wireless service, told CBS News. “All my L.A. friends, who have Verizon, don’t have service either.”
Customers began reporting problems shortly after 12 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, according to DownDetector’s data. The number of reports peaked around 3:30 p.m. ET, with nearly 23,000 reports.
People across the country said their phones had no service except for SOS mode. Mobile phones will sometimes switch to SOS mode when they’re having trouble connecting to a wireless network. As the name suggests, SOS mode means the phone can still make emergency calls, such as 911, by connecting to other carriers, according to Apple.
In October 2024, Verizon experienced a similar outage that resulted in over 100,000 reports on DownDetector.
New collaboration will equip Skill Forward participants with professional interview training to convert new skills into better jobs.
NEW YORK, June 24, 2025 (Newswire.com)
– Big Interview, a leader in job interview training and career readiness, announced today a partnership with Verizon as part of its nationwide Verizon Forward and Skill Forward initiatives. The goal: to ensure that participants-many of whom come from under-resourced backgrounds-have the tools to turn their newly acquired skills into higher-paying, long-term employment.
As part of Verizon’s goal to train 50,000 individuals by 2030 to help them advance their careers, this collaboration brings world-class interview preparation and coaching directly to Skill Forward learners at no cost.
“We’re honored to support Verizon Forward customers and Skill Forward participants as they take the next step toward better jobs and brighter futures,” said Alex Andrei, CEO of Big Interview. “For someone who’s invested time in building new skills, interview prep can be the difference between landing a job or starting over. We’re here to make sure they finish strong.”
Big Interview’s training platform is proven to help job seekers dramatically reduce their time to employment, from the national average of 21.1 weeks (per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) to as few as 4 weeks. The platform is especially effective for individuals facing barriers to employment, including gaps in work history or limited access to traditional career coaching.
“Verizon is pleased to partner with Big Interview to offer Verizon Skill Forward learners a free job readiness resource,” said Carrie Hughes, AVP, Social Innovation. “In today’s highly competitive market, individuals must have both in-demand skills as well as the confidence to effectively present themselves and their abilities. This partnership aims to provide practical, real-world job search preparation that empowers our learners for success in the next phase of their careers.”
Key Features of the Partnership:
● Comprehensive Interview Training: On-demand curriculum covering all major question types, tailored for both entry-level and advanced roles.
● Customized Mock Interviews: Realistic simulations for over 1,100 careers, plus specialized tools for English Language Learners and job seekers with employment gaps or disabilities.
● AI-Powered Feedback and Action Plans: Personalized coaching guidance driven by AI and developed by career experts.
About Big Interview: Big Interview is a trusted career development platform used by more than 1 million job seekers and over 700 organizations, including universities, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies. The platform provides structured learning, AI-powered mock interviews, and expert-backed tools to help individuals build confidence, improve outcomes, and succeed in today’s competitive job market. Learn more at https://www.biginterview.com.
About Verizon: Verizon Communications Inc. powers and empowers how its millions of customers live, work and play, delivering on their demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity and security. Headquartered in New York City, serving countries worldwide and nearly all of the Fortune 500, Verizon generated revenues of $134.8 billion in 2024. Verizon’s world-class team never stops innovating to meet customers where they are today and equip them for the needs of tomorrow. For more, visit verizon.com or find a retail location at verizon.com/stores.
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Sports and entertainment fans will be seeing a lot more of Verizon this season, as the telecommunications company has been announced as the Official Mobile Wireless Partner for the MSG Family of Companies.
The new partnership will see Verizon branding and activations across the MSG portfolio of venues, which includes Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and The Sphere in Las Vegas, among others. Verizon will also team up with the company’s sports franchises, which include the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers.
Verizon customers, meantime, will get exclusive tickets to select concerts and shows at Radio City, Beacon Theatre, The Theater at Madison Square Garden and The Chicago Theatre. Verizon subscribers will also get exclusive access to all live events at Madison Square Garden that are part of the “Arena Concert Series,” and exclusive access to tickets for select concerts at The Sphere.
Customers can see a full list of shows and activations through Verizon Access, the company’s destination for tickets, presale access, VIP experiences and more.
In a press release, Verizon calls this a “first-of-its-kind integrated marketing partnership,” that will not only provide exposure for Verizon across MSG’s portfolio of properties, but also offer fans a way to experience their favorite performers and teams in a whole new way.
Case in point: Verizon will unveil two branded hospitality spaces inside Madison Square Garden. The “Verizon Club” will be open for all Rangers and Knicks games this upcoming season, as well as select concerts and shows. The “Verizon Lounge,” meantime, is a brand new space being built inside The Theater at MSG. Both spaces will be open to select Verizon Customers and premium ticket holders to enjoy light bites and drinks before and during events.
“This is a landmark partnership for the MSG Family of Companies and Verizon, bringing together a diverse portfolio of premier global brands that share a commitment to providing exceptional experiences for customers,” says Josephine Vaccarello, Executive Vice President, Live, MSG Entertainment, in a release. “We look forward to offering Verizon customers exclusive tickets to events across our legendary venues in New York, Chicago and Las Vegas via their new Verizon Access platform.”
“Our partnership with the MSG Family of Companies provides Verizon customers with premium access to the most iconic venues and events in sports and entertainment,” adds Nick Kelly, VP, Partnerships at Verizon. “This expanded collaboration will elevate the fan experience and keep people connected in-venue through the power of Verizon’s 5G technology.”
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Verizon’s Sphere integrations actually began on July 4, when they presented the “Sphere Fourth of July Celebration” on the Exosphere – the wrap-around exterior LED screen of Sphere in Las Vegas.
Officials said Verizon, one of the biggest cellphone carriers, would keep hanging up on 911 when someone is calling for help in D.C.
Last month alone, more than 10,000 calls to D.C.’s 911 went unanswered. Sometimes, the person calling would hang up quickly because they made the call by accident, or maybe they’d be disconnected because they were walking into a building or someplace where the signal would drop.
But anecdotes about 911 calls being disconnected as soon as someone is moved into a queue to speak to a call taker have been pouring into city leaders offices for months, and after further investigation they found one common denominator — the cellphone that was used to make the call used Verizon as a carrier.
This week, the Office of Unified Communications and D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto confirmed there has been a problem with Verizon dropping calls, and the city is working with the telecommunications carrier to fix the issue. While it hasn’t been solved yet, OUC director Heather McGaffin told the council during an oversight hearing on Monday that a workaround has been put in place in the meantime.
“When you call 911 and we are experiencing a spike in call volume, you are getting a queue that says, ‘You’ve reached D.C. 911, please don’t hang up,’” said McGaffin. “That is considered a delivered call to D.C. 911. As long as you don’t hang up, you’ll stay in that queue. If you do hang up … we’re going to call you back. One of the vendors was not considering that a delivered call. They were dropping callers.”
McGaffin said it was during a meeting with Pinto’s staff when they were going over call logs that the anecdotal evidence turned into something more substantive.
“I said, ‘Well, this is strange, this person hung up right at this mark.’ And then the next one, I was like, ‘This is not a coincidence.’ I don’t believe in those, and so we need to do a little bit of extra digging,” she said.
After the hearing on Monday, McGaffin was hesitant to go further into details, vowing to offer up something more substantial in the future. Pinto also spoke, adding that it’s a national problem that’s affected other cities, too.
“The carrier was dropping many of those callers once they entered the queue line,” said Pinto. “And so we both need the public to know if you’re in the queue line, wait and don’t hang up. But we also need the carrier to know that call is not finalized yet, and you cannot be dropping those calls.”
A spokesperson for Verizon confirmed the carrier is working with D.C. to address the issue, adding that it “reliably delivers” wireless calls to 911 “in accordance with industry and public safety standards.” But follow-up questions about how long this has been a problem, and how often it’s occurred, have not been answered.
“That carrier will have to make fixes on their end so that they’re delivering the call the proper way,” said McGaffin. “We’re meeting with them almost every other day to say, ‘Where are you?’”
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Update 8/29/24: Deal is back, this time spend $50 twice and get $50 back. Valid until 10/9/2024. Hat tip to DDG
Update 7/23/21: Deal is back, this time spend $40 and get $30 back. Valid until 8/1/2021.
The Offer
Check your Bank Amerideals for the following offer:
Earn $50 back when you spend $55 or more on Verizon Wireless
A number of banks use the same back end for these offers. This includes: Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Regions Bank, Suntrust Bank, BBVA, BB&T, PNC, Columbia Bank, Beneficial Bank, and Christian Community CU. You can read this post for more information.
The Fine Print
Valid until 5/26/21
Offer valid one time only.
Payment must be made directly with the merchant.
Offer not valid on Verizon prepaid purchases or other Verizon products or services.
Offer not valid on third-party delivery services.
Our Verdict
Great offer for anybody with Verizon Wireless (or even if you know somebody with it), could also pick up some almost free accessories if you have a store near you.
AT&T and Verizon customers found themselves unable to call contacts on other carriers for several hours on June 4. Based on people’s reports on Downdetector, the issue started at around 11AM ET for both carriers and peaked at approximately 5PM ET. Thousands of subscribers were affected. Most of the reports came from New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Cleveland, among other locations. A much smaller number of T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless users also reported problems with their connection.
The Federal Communications Commission tried to assuage people’s worries and announced that it was aware that subscribers from multiple states were “unable to make wireless calls.” It also said that it was “currently investigating” the problem. After 7PM ET, both Verizon and AT&T issued statements denying that they were experiencing nationwide outage. They both admitted that their customers were having difficulties calling or texting people on other carriers — Verizon reportedly told Gizmodo that outage reports for its network came from people trying to call AT&T subscribers — but neither one took responsibility. The root cause of the issue remains unknown at this time. AT&T told CNN, though, that 911 calls went through despite the outage.
We want to assure you there’s no widespread Verizon outage.
Some customers experienced issues when calling or texting customers on other carriers who are having issues, and we’re monitoring the situation in real time.
The issue disrupting calls between carriers has been resolved. We collaborated with the other carrier to find a solution and appreciate our customers patience during this period.
An hour later, AT&T announced that the problem had been resolved. The company said it collaborated “with the other carrier” to find a solution. It didn’t name the other carrier, but it was most likely Verizon, seeing as most of the customers who were affected were subscribers of the two companies. Back in February, AT&T experienced a massive outage that affected over 70,000 subscribers’ cellular services and data connections, with customers noting that they couldn’t even contact 911. Verizon and T-Mobile said at the time that their subscribers couldn’t contact friends with AT&T numbers.
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