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Rogers investigating after wireless customers complain of widespread outage

Rogers service returning

UPDATE 5 p.m.

Rogers says wireless calls, SMS texts and data services are slowly returning to customers.

"It will take several more hours for all customers and regions to return to full service," the company said in a tweet.

The outage was caused by a software update from Ericsson.

TV, home and business wireline internet, and home phone services were not impacted.

"It's a very big deal," said Tyler Chamberlin, assistant professor at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. "It can have very big consequences on our economy."

In addition to personal communications, experts said the outage is impacting business sales and services such as food delivery and curbside pickup, payments that require a wireless connection and the ability for people to work remotely.

The service interruption could also have health implications, with some Rogers customers saying they've been unable to book or check in for medical appointments.

Rogers spokesman Andrew Garas apologized for the disruption and thanked customers for their patience.


ORIGINAL 8:50 a.m.

A nationwide wireless outage has left customers of Rogers Communications Inc. with intermittent access to call and texting services.

The national wireless carrier says in a Twitter post it's working quickly to restore the impacted services as soon as possible.

According to Down Detector, a website that tracks outages, problems are being reported in most major Canadian cities and large parts of southern Ontario. Users say they have been unable to place or receive any cellphone calls or text messages for several hours.

Winnipeg Police say in a Twitter post that Rogers and Fido customers experiencing Canada-wide outages will still be able to call 911 but must remain on the line to speak with an operator.

Peel Regional Police also say on Twitter that if Rogers customers call 911 they should remain on the line as operators are unable to call back.

Rogers did not immediately respond to a request for more information.



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