Many Canadians without cell, internet service after nationwide network outage

Canadians are contending with significant cellular, internet, and cable service disruptions on Friday following an outage at Rogers Communications, one of the nation's biggest telecommunications companies. Those in Ontario and Quebec, the country's most populous provinces, are bearing the brunt of the burden, though the outage's effects can reportedly be felt nationwide, reports The New York Times.
Issues began sometime early Friday, Canada's CBC notes. It seems Rogers has yet to detail the cause of the outage or provide an estimated time frame as to when service might be restored, the Times adds.
"We know how important it is for our customers to stay connected," the company said Friday. "We are aware of issues currently affecting our networks and our teams are fully engaged to resolve the issue as soon as possible." The outage is said to be impacting some banking services and transactions, as well as police services, where callers may be unable to get through to 911, per CNBC.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
To try and circumvent the lapse in service, customers gathered in places like coffee shops and public libraries where alternative networks were offered, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, fellow Canadian telecom company Bell took the opportunity to let its customers know "its network is just fine," joke MobileSyrup, in reference to a tweet from Bell concerning the outage.
Elsewhere, of course, the memes have already begun.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Harvard sues Trump over frozen grant money
Speed Read The Trump administration withheld $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts after Harvard rejected its demands
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodes
Speed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Apple pledges $500B in US spending over 4 years
Speed Read This is a win for Trump, who has pushed to move manufacturing back to the US
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Microsoft unveils quantum computing breakthrough
Speed Read Researchers say this advance could lead to faster and more powerful computers
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
TikTok's fate uncertain as weekend deadline looms
Speed Read The popular app is set to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Appeals court kills FCC net neutrality rule
Speed Read A U.S. appeals court blocked Biden's effort to restore net-neutrality rules
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge rejects Elon Musk's $56B pay package again
Speed Read Judge Kathaleen McCormick upheld her rejection of the Tesla CEO's unprecedented compensation deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
DOJ seeks breakup of Google, Chrome
Speed Read The Justice Department aims to force Google to sell off Chrome and make other changes to rectify its illegal search monopoly
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Racist texts tell Black people in US to prepare for slavery
Speed Read Recipients in at least a dozen states have been told to prepare to 'pick cotton' on slave plantations
By Peter Weber, The Week US