INTERNET users across the northeast U.S. experienced widespread outages for several hours Tuesday, interrupting work and school because of an unspecified Verizon network issue.
“An internet issue impacting the quality of our Fios service throughout the Northeast has been resolved," said spokesman Jim Greer in an emailed statement Tuesday afternoon.
He said service levels “are returning to normal" and the company is investigating what happened.
The service interruptions were unrelated to a cut fiber in Brooklyn, New York, which caused problems for people in the area.
There are about 6.5 million Fios internet customers.
People posting on Twitter reported having issues connecting with various online services in the region stretching from Washington to Boston. That densely populated area includes key U.S. government services as well as major financial companies such as Fidelity Investments.
Disruptions to internet services are always a hassle, but have become even more excruciating as the pandemic forces millions of people to work from home and students to attend school remotely.
Diana Gaspar's daughter in New York couldn't connect to her online classroom because their home internet was spotty for a couple of hours in the afternoon, although her daughter was able to log in with Gaspar's phone.
“We didn't see it as a major issue," Gaspar said. “The only inconvenience was me not having my phone.”
For the Fairfax County Public Schools in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, teachers and students found workarounds, such as switching to another instruction platform if one wasn't working, said spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell.
At Galvin Middle School in Wakefield, Massachusetts, a suburb north of Boston, teachers sent students pen-and-paper assignments if there were internet problems, said Trish Dellanno, reached at the school by phone. “Teachers have been able to keep on moving. They’re going old school.”
The outage affected internet and cloud providers as well as major sites such as Google and Facebook. Amazon, whose web services division powers a wide ranges of online services, indicated its network wasn't the cause of the problem and that connectivity issues for its Amazon Web Services customers were resolved around 12:45 p.m., after an hour and a half. Google said it also had not found issues with its own services and was investigating.
The East Coast outages began at 11:25 a.m. local time and recovery began at 12:37 p.m, according to Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, a network monitoring company. He reported a 12% drop in traffic volume to Verizon.
Madory said he did not yet know if other carriers were impacted. Comcast, another major internet service provider, said it had not observed problems with its network Tuesday. AT&T did not immediately reply to questions.
Cary Wiedemann, a network engineer who had connectivity problems at his home in Northern Virginia, said that some online services could have been disrupted even if your home internet still worked, if the issue was with the backbone of Verizon's network.
“If Outlook works but YouTube doesn’t, whose fault is it? Verizon’s fault. But that’s not obvious from the onset,” he said.
AP Newsroom
Tue Jan 26 2021
The problem appears to extend from Washington to Boston, and is affecting internet and cloud providers as well as a number of Google services, Facebook and other major sites. - AP Photo
How Italy's tax system got rigged for the rich
Italy's tax system is skewed in a way that lets society's wealthiest 7% pay proportionately less tax than low and middle-income earners.
Monsoon surge from Dec 8-14 in eastern part of Peninsula - MetMalaysia
The concentration of wind is expected to occur in Kelantan and Terengganu from Tuesday evening until the early morning of Wednesday.
Australian social media ban started with call to act by politician's wife
The proposed social media ban held the door open for teens over 14 to keep using social media with parental permission.
New US solar tariffs on Southeast Asia to raise prices, cut profit margins
The new duties extend the United States' anti-dumping regime in Southeast Asia to solar cells, from just finished modules previously.
Vocational college student's murder: Victim was hit more than once, says friend
The 10th prosecution witness says was able to witness the incident a hiss view was not obstructed by any object as he was at a high place.
Guinea stadium crush kills 56 people after disputed refereeing decision
According to the Guinean government, the violence broke out over a contested goal.
ASEAN: Malaysia’s theme challenges systems that marginalise developing nations - PM
PM says Malaysia must use every regional and international platform available to address shared concerns directly with key partners.
Thailand, Malaysia brace for fresh wave of floods as water levels ease
Some displaced residents were able to return home and the worst floods in decades began receding in some areas.
Amendment to Communications Act introduces prison sentence for offences against children
The new subsection also stipulates an additional fine of RM5,000 for each day or part of a day that the offence continues after conviction.
No need to postpone SPM as MOE has mechanisms to address flood issues - Education DG
Azman Adnan says MoE is confident the issue involving students sitting for these examinations during the disaster can be properly managed.
Trump names his daughter’s father-in-law, as a senior adviser on Middle East
Massad Boulos is yet another name from Trump's inner family to work with in his upcoming second term.
New Zealand suspends poultry exports after first case of H7 bird flu
Tests confirms the H7N6 subtype of bird flu at a rural chicken farm in the Otago region, according to Biosecurity New Zealand.
Malaysia urges Chinese firms to avoid using it to dodge U.S. tariffs
Washington is expected to further curb exports to Chinese semiconductor toolmakers and sales of certain chipmaking equipment, including products manufactured in Malaysia.
Asia's factories perk up on China recovery but Trump risks loom
Many Chinese exporters are scrambling to get their goods to major markets ahead of tariffs from the US and European Union.
Proposed Australia law would fine Big Tech over digital competition
The consultation process is scheduled to end on Feb. 14 and more discussions will be done to prepare the draft legislation.
PM urges private sector to step up flood relief efforts
In the current situation, it is good not only to contribute funds but also to deploy machinery, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Biden says he has pardoned his son, Hunter
I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision, says President Joe Biden.
Home Ministry deploys PDRM personnel, assets for flood relief efforts
The KDN Ihsan MADANI Squad is also on standby for post-flood assistance to flood victims.
Egypt hosts Hamas in new Gaza ceasefire push, looting halts aid
Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian security officials in a fresh push for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, according to two Hamas sources.
Government provides additional allocation for post-flood measures - PM
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says, if the water is receding, there is a responsibility to restore the situation.