TORONTO/OTTAWA, (Reuters) – A major network outage at one of Canada’s biggest telecom operators shut banking, transport and government access for millions all day on Friday, drawing outrage from customers and adding to criticism over Rogers Telecommunications’ RCIb.TO industry dominance.
Nearly every facet of life has been disrupted, with the outage affecting internet access, cell phone connections and landline phone connections. Some callers could not reach emergency services via 911 calls, police across Canada said.
Canadians who work from home crowded into cafes and public libraries that still had internet access and hovered outside hotels to catch a signal. Canada’s border services agency said the outage affected its mobile app for incoming travelers. Retailers’ cashless pay systems went down; banks reported issues with ATM services.
Rogers said it would provide credits to affected customers. Its shares closed down 73 cents at $61.54 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Later on Friday, Kye Prigg, a senior vice president at Rogers, told the CBC the company did not “have an ETA of when the problem will be fixed” and was still working to identify a cause.
“I wouldn’t like to say whether it’s going to be fully online today or not,” he said.
A spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday evening that the outage was not the result of a cyber attack.
The disruption also made transport and flight bookings more difficult at the height of the summer travel season.
So far, Transport Canada has not received reports of direct safety or security impacts to any flights, marine or rail services as part of this outage, according to spokesperson Sau Sau Liu.
The interruption was Rogers’ second in 15 months. It began around 4:30 a.m. ET (0830 GMT) and knocked out a quarter of Canada’s observable internet connectivity, said the NetBlocks monitoring group.
“Today we have let you down. We are working to make this right as quickly as we can,” Rogers said in a statement.
With about 10 million wireless subscribers and 2.25 million retail internet subscribers, Rogers is the top provider in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and home to its biggest city, Toronto. Rogers, BCE Inc BCE.TO and Telus Corp T.TO control 90% of the market share in Canada.
Canadian Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne in a tweet called the situation “unacceptable” and said he was in communication with telecom CEOs, including those from Rogers, Bell and Telus, to find a solution.
Canadian financial institutions and banks, including Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO and Bank Of Montreal BMO.TO, said the outage disrupted services. Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO said its ATMs and online banking services were affected.
A spokesperson for Vancouver International airport, among Canada’s busiest, said travelers could not pay for parking, use terminal ATMs or purchase items at airport retailers.
Air Canada AC.TO, the country’s largest airline, said its call center had been affected. Airlines in Canada, like those in Europe and the United States, have been experiencing high call volume amid flight cancellations and delays due to pandemic staffing shortages.
Pop star the Weeknd last evening announced that his tour stop at the Rogers Centre stadium had been postponed due to service outages affecting venue operations.
“I’m crushed & heartbroken. Been at the venue all day but it’s out of our hands because of the Rogers outage,” the singer wrote in a tweet.
Critics said the outage demonstrated a need for more competition in telecom.
Earlier this year, Canada’s competition bureau blocked Rogers’ attempt to take over rival Shaw Communications SJRb.TO in a C$20 billion deal, saying it would hamper competition in a country where telecom rates are some of the world’s highest. The merger still awaits a final verdict.
