(UPDATE: August 4th @ 12:00 p.m.) - Phone outage caused by cut cable, according to Telus.
Bell services are back up and running in Atlantic Canada.
Bell services back in Atlantic after reroute and repair due to accidental cable damage. We apologize to customers for the disruption.
— Bell (@Bell) August 4, 2017
Telus services are still being restored.
Thank you for your continued patience. We can confirm that services across Atlantic Canada are beginning to be restored.
— TELUS (@TELUS) August 4, 2017
Telus issued a report stating that the wireless service interruption in parts of Atlantic Canada was due to an outage on a shared network.
The interrupted services includes mobile voice, text and data services.
Telus reported that the root cause from a cut cable and is impacting 885 of its cell sites.
(Original Story: August 4th @ 9:30 a.m.) - On the morning of Friday, August 4th, residents in Atlantic Canada were dealing with a major phone outage of phone from multiple providers.
It's not uncommon to encounter a power outage in Atlantic Canada, but having all the main phone providers lose service at the same time is a whole other ball game.
First sign of #CellPocalypse in Atlantic Canada 🇨🇦 #Bell #Cell #Outage #Paperback #NBLongWeekend pic.twitter.com/u6slrOBkIt
— Dexx (@coolcourier) August 4, 2017
Emergency services are working quickly to get more staffing at various fire halls, EMS and police departments.
They are keeping the public informed via Twitter.
HRP still able to respond to emergency calls through 911. EMO suggests the best way to reach 911 right now is a landline.
— Halifax_Police (@HfxRegPolice) August 4, 2017
Halifax Fire says if you need help don't assume your phone isn't working and call 911. Try different phone if not. https://t.co/g909eWQEW7
— NEWS 95.7 Halifax (@NEWS957) August 4, 2017
RCMP asking you not to call 911 to check if it's working.
— NEWS 95.7 Halifax (@NEWS957) August 4, 2017
What's being dubbed as 'Cellpocalypse' started mid-morning for Atlantic Canadians on Friday and it's hitting Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Unstaffed stations are being asked to call dispatch and the Division Chief of Communications upon coming in service to confirm connectivity.
— Halifax Fire News (@HRMFireNews) August 4, 2017
Some of the phone providers experiencing service issues are Bell, Koodo, Eastlink, Rogers and Telus.
Businesses are asking people to email, Facebook or send them a message over Twitter.
Desperately trying to survive the Great Canadian Cell Outage of 2017#Cellpocalypse
— Christian (@BunnaChristian) August 4, 2017
In some areas, bank machines are also down and residents are tweeting to have cash on hand until further notice.
Well lovely all of Atlantic Canada are down. No cell service, and most of not all banks are down (machines). Can’t pay bills!
— LethalMiss❌[TeEm] (@LethalMissX) August 4, 2017
What in the world is happening in atlantic canada?! Cell phones, landlines or down. Banks are down, stores are only taking cash...
— Syth XiG (@OMGitsXiG) August 4, 2017
The following shows Bell's outage map across North America. As you'll see from the graphs, the other service providers show outage maps for Atlantic Canada, quite similar to Bell's.
We are aware of an Interruption impacting our network partners that may affect your ability to place calls. We appreciate your patience.
— Eastlink (@Eastlink) August 4, 2017
Air Canada is also reporting a series of delayed flights at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
While this is causing some major service issues, in true Maritime form, some of the residents out east are trying to lighten the mood with a little humour.
Hi @JustinTrudeau, please send federal aid to Atlantic Canada. All our cellphones are broken. Thanks.
— Sean Joudry (@seanjoudry) August 4, 2017
Atlantic Canada handling a crisis rn pic.twitter.com/IjGb9mq9Kv
— Erin Hopkins (@HopkinsErin) August 4, 2017
Stay tuned for updates.
