Rogers customers grow increasingly frustrated on 3rd day without cell, internet service
Laura McQuillan -CBC - July 10,2022
After waiting hours on hold to speak with a Rogers representative, Rosanna Minicucci is still no closer to finding out when her landline, internet and TV service might be restored.
"I stayed five hours on hold, on the line. People are obviously calling — there are obviously a lot of people out there still with no service," Minicucci, who lives in Vaughan, north of Toronto, said.
She is one of a number of Rogers customers who told CBC News they're still struggling to use their phones, internet and other Rogers services more than 48 hours after Friday's nationwide outage caused major disruptions, including to 911 lines and banking services.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, Rogers said its networks and systems were "close to fully operational," with service restored to "the vast majority" of customers.
"We are aware that some customers continue to experience intermittent challenges with their services," Rogers said.
The company did not answer questions about how many customers were still facing issues. It said its technical teams were working to resolve the remaining issues, and affected customers would receive credits on their accounts. Rogers has not said what the amount of the credit would be.
Earlier, it blamed the outage on a maintenance update that caused some of its routers to malfunction early Friday morning.
Some Rogers customers who have been waiting more than two days for service restoration say they are unhappy with the company's lack of communication and are now considering switching providers.
With her internet down on Friday, Minicucci was unable to work from home as she usually does, and on Sunday afternoon, she was uncertain about whether her service would be restored in time for work on Monday morning.
"Will I stay with Rogers? How can I? I don't trust their service," she said.
Jen Dieleman, a DoorDash driver in London, Ont., said she was unable to work on Friday or Saturday because her Rogers cellphone couldn't connect to the app that drivers use to pick up and deliver orders. Her service was still spotty on Sunday, she said.
"I'm out trying to work right now, and it's still glitching and having issues," Dieleman said, adding that she had missed out on picking up orders due to issues with her cellphone data.
In Whitby, northeast of Toronto, Justine Creagmile and her parents are still waiting for their home phone, internet and cable to resume working — even though service has been restored for their neighbours.
"It's absolutely frustrating, honestly," she said. "We're all connected to the same wiring. How is theirs working and ours isn't?"
Creagmile said her family has had "absolutely no luck" in trying to troubleshoot their issues with Rogers via phone and social media, and their future as Rogers customers will "depend on what Rogers is going to do to rectify the problem."
© Matt Fratpietro/CBC
Service resuming but patchy
Other customers told CBC News that their service appeared to be returning on Sunday afternoon, but it remained patchy.
Adriano Burgo said the Wi-Fi at his house in London, Ont., had "slowed down immensely," while his cellphone calls were dropping intermittently and he was unable to send texts.
He described Rogers' communication with its customers about the ongoing issues as "very poor," but he was unsure if he would switch providers.
"My problem is it's such a monopoly market, especially in London," he said. "We don't really have many options when it comes to internet and cable."
Rogers' issues were also affecting other companies that rely on its network, including internet provider TekSavvy, which was advising its customers in Ontario and Quebec of ongoing issues on Sunday afternoon.
In a statement, TekSavvy vice-president Andy Kaplan-Myrth said thousands of customers were still reporting slow or intermittent internet speeds, or were having difficulty connecting to the internet at all.
The company recommended customers try rebooting their modem and contacting TekSavvy if problems continued.
Ottawa orders meeting with telecom bosses
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is to meet with Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri and other telecom company leaders on Monday "to discuss how important it is to improve the reliability of the networks across Canada," according to a statement from Champagne's office.
The statement did not provide any details about which other companies' executives would be attending the meeting.
Champagne called the outage "unacceptable" and said he had expressed that view directly to Staffieri, his office said.
Laura McQuillan -CBC - July 10,2022
After waiting hours on hold to speak with a Rogers representative, Rosanna Minicucci is still no closer to finding out when her landline, internet and TV service might be restored.
"I stayed five hours on hold, on the line. People are obviously calling — there are obviously a lot of people out there still with no service," Minicucci, who lives in Vaughan, north of Toronto, said.
She is one of a number of Rogers customers who told CBC News they're still struggling to use their phones, internet and other Rogers services more than 48 hours after Friday's nationwide outage caused major disruptions, including to 911 lines and banking services.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, Rogers said its networks and systems were "close to fully operational," with service restored to "the vast majority" of customers.
"We are aware that some customers continue to experience intermittent challenges with their services," Rogers said.
The company did not answer questions about how many customers were still facing issues. It said its technical teams were working to resolve the remaining issues, and affected customers would receive credits on their accounts. Rogers has not said what the amount of the credit would be.
Earlier, it blamed the outage on a maintenance update that caused some of its routers to malfunction early Friday morning.
Some Rogers customers who have been waiting more than two days for service restoration say they are unhappy with the company's lack of communication and are now considering switching providers.
With her internet down on Friday, Minicucci was unable to work from home as she usually does, and on Sunday afternoon, she was uncertain about whether her service would be restored in time for work on Monday morning.
"Will I stay with Rogers? How can I? I don't trust their service," she said.
Jen Dieleman, a DoorDash driver in London, Ont., said she was unable to work on Friday or Saturday because her Rogers cellphone couldn't connect to the app that drivers use to pick up and deliver orders. Her service was still spotty on Sunday, she said.
"I'm out trying to work right now, and it's still glitching and having issues," Dieleman said, adding that she had missed out on picking up orders due to issues with her cellphone data.
In Whitby, northeast of Toronto, Justine Creagmile and her parents are still waiting for their home phone, internet and cable to resume working — even though service has been restored for their neighbours.
"It's absolutely frustrating, honestly," she said. "We're all connected to the same wiring. How is theirs working and ours isn't?"
Creagmile said her family has had "absolutely no luck" in trying to troubleshoot their issues with Rogers via phone and social media, and their future as Rogers customers will "depend on what Rogers is going to do to rectify the problem."
© Matt Fratpietro/CBC
Friday's outage left businesses across the country unable to process debit card payments, including this coffee shop in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Service resuming but patchy
Other customers told CBC News that their service appeared to be returning on Sunday afternoon, but it remained patchy.
Adriano Burgo said the Wi-Fi at his house in London, Ont., had "slowed down immensely," while his cellphone calls were dropping intermittently and he was unable to send texts.
He described Rogers' communication with its customers about the ongoing issues as "very poor," but he was unsure if he would switch providers.
"My problem is it's such a monopoly market, especially in London," he said. "We don't really have many options when it comes to internet and cable."
Rogers' issues were also affecting other companies that rely on its network, including internet provider TekSavvy, which was advising its customers in Ontario and Quebec of ongoing issues on Sunday afternoon.
In a statement, TekSavvy vice-president Andy Kaplan-Myrth said thousands of customers were still reporting slow or intermittent internet speeds, or were having difficulty connecting to the internet at all.
The company recommended customers try rebooting their modem and contacting TekSavvy if problems continued.
Ottawa orders meeting with telecom bosses
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is to meet with Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri and other telecom company leaders on Monday "to discuss how important it is to improve the reliability of the networks across Canada," according to a statement from Champagne's office.
The statement did not provide any details about which other companies' executives would be attending the meeting.
Champagne called the outage "unacceptable" and said he had expressed that view directly to Staffieri, his office said.
IT IMPACTED MORE THAN JUST ROGERS CUSTOMERS
Sofia Misenheimer - MTLBLOG
Rogers is finally sharing the cause of the massive network outage that rocked Canada on Friday: a maintenance update in the company's core network that caused some routers to malfunction. The company CEO wrote to customers on Sunday morning, apologizing for the system failure.
© Provided by mtlblogRogers Has Revealed The Cause Of Friday's Outage & The Company's CEO Has Apologized
"We let you down on Friday. You have my personal commitment that we will do better," Rogers President and CEO Tony Staffieri wrote in an email to customers.
"We know how much you rely on our networks and I sincerely apologize. We’re particularly troubled that some customers could not reach emergency services, and we are addressing the issue as an urgent priority."
Internet and phone service went down for Rogers customers and those of other cell providers that use the company's network, like Fido, chatr and Cityfone.
Some emergency and banking services that rely on Rogers systems were also unavailable.
Meanwhile, Montreal's municipal services were seriously affected, with passport office call centres shut down for the day, along with taxi offices and the city's 311 information line.
While Rogers acknowledged the outage on Friday morning, it offered little information about the cause or when services might be restored.
Staffieri wrote that, as of Sunday, services have been restored and that company networks and systems are "close to fully operational."
He said technical teams are monitoring for any lingering issues while experts dig into the root cause of the outage to improve stability.
The company plans to credit customers who were affected by the outage. That credit will be applied automatically with no action required.
Sofia Misenheimer - MTLBLOG
Rogers is finally sharing the cause of the massive network outage that rocked Canada on Friday: a maintenance update in the company's core network that caused some routers to malfunction. The company CEO wrote to customers on Sunday morning, apologizing for the system failure.
© Provided by mtlblogRogers Has Revealed The Cause Of Friday's Outage & The Company's CEO Has Apologized
"We let you down on Friday. You have my personal commitment that we will do better," Rogers President and CEO Tony Staffieri wrote in an email to customers.
"We know how much you rely on our networks and I sincerely apologize. We’re particularly troubled that some customers could not reach emergency services, and we are addressing the issue as an urgent priority."
Internet and phone service went down for Rogers customers and those of other cell providers that use the company's network, like Fido, chatr and Cityfone.
Some emergency and banking services that rely on Rogers systems were also unavailable.
Meanwhile, Montreal's municipal services were seriously affected, with passport office call centres shut down for the day, along with taxi offices and the city's 311 information line.
While Rogers acknowledged the outage on Friday morning, it offered little information about the cause or when services might be restored.
Staffieri wrote that, as of Sunday, services have been restored and that company networks and systems are "close to fully operational."
He said technical teams are monitoring for any lingering issues while experts dig into the root cause of the outage to improve stability.
The company plans to credit customers who were affected by the outage. That credit will be applied automatically with no action required.
The Cause For The Rogers Outage Has Been Revealed & The CEO Says 'We Let You Down'
Canada - Trending Team - NARCITY
In the aftermath of the huge Rogers outage that affected the internet and phone services of people across Canada, the company has shared an apology and an explanation.
On Saturday, July 9, "A Message from Rogers President and CEO" Tony Staffieri was posted on their site.
"We now believe we’ve narrowed the cause to a network system failure following a maintenance update in our core network, which caused some of our routers to malfunction early Friday morning," Staffieri wrote.
To fix the problem, they disconnected certain equipment "which allowed our network and services to come back online over time as we managed traffic volumes returning to normal levels."
"We know how much our customers rely on our networks, and I sincerely apologize," Staffieri continued, adding that they were "particularly troubled" that some people couldn't contact emergency services, which he says they are addressing.
As well, customers will be given credit for the disruption that will be applied automatically to their accounts.
Staffieri also said that, as CEO, he takes full responsibility for ensuring the company earns back the trust of its customers.
He also laid out a three-step action plan which consists of fully restoring all services, completing "root cause analysis and testing," and making "any necessary changes."
"We will take every step necessary and continue to make significant investments in our networks to strengthen our technology systems, increase network stability for our customers, and enhance our testing," he shared.
"We let you down yesterday," he wrote. "You have my personal commitment that we can, and will, do better."
During the outage on Friday, some people attending concerts were advised to physically print out their tickets to avoid any mishaps due to not being able to connect to the internet and get their tickets scanned.
As well, Passport Canada tweeted that the outage affected some call centres and offices, including passport offices.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
Canada - Trending Team - NARCITY
In the aftermath of the huge Rogers outage that affected the internet and phone services of people across Canada, the company has shared an apology and an explanation.
On Saturday, July 9, "A Message from Rogers President and CEO" Tony Staffieri was posted on their site.
"We now believe we’ve narrowed the cause to a network system failure following a maintenance update in our core network, which caused some of our routers to malfunction early Friday morning," Staffieri wrote.
To fix the problem, they disconnected certain equipment "which allowed our network and services to come back online over time as we managed traffic volumes returning to normal levels."
"We know how much our customers rely on our networks, and I sincerely apologize," Staffieri continued, adding that they were "particularly troubled" that some people couldn't contact emergency services, which he says they are addressing.
As well, customers will be given credit for the disruption that will be applied automatically to their accounts.
Staffieri also said that, as CEO, he takes full responsibility for ensuring the company earns back the trust of its customers.
He also laid out a three-step action plan which consists of fully restoring all services, completing "root cause analysis and testing," and making "any necessary changes."
"We will take every step necessary and continue to make significant investments in our networks to strengthen our technology systems, increase network stability for our customers, and enhance our testing," he shared.
"We let you down yesterday," he wrote. "You have my personal commitment that we can, and will, do better."
During the outage on Friday, some people attending concerts were advised to physically print out their tickets to avoid any mishaps due to not being able to connect to the internet and get their tickets scanned.
As well, Passport Canada tweeted that the outage affected some call centres and offices, including passport offices.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
Rogers outage shows need for Plan B when wireless, internet services fail, analysts say
Nick Logan - CBC
You didn't have to be a Rogers customer to feel the sense of dread when waking up to the news of a widespread wireless and internet outage Friday morning. The day, for millions of Canadians, was already off to a bad start.
At a Starbucks in Toronto, there was no quick tap of a debit card to get your caffeine fix on the run, as the disruption affected online payment systems across the country. Commuters in Vancouver were advised they may not be able to pay transit fares with debit cards. Cafes and libraries still offering Wi-Fi became makeshift offices. Any convenience to working from home became an inconvenience for those relying on the telecom giant's services.
It's the second major Rogers disruption in about 14 months. The company admitted to its 11 million wireless subscribers: "Today we have let you down."
The Canadian economy, and everyday life, is tethered to our communications networks, and when they go down, like Rogers did for much of the day Friday, there is no universal Plan B to keep widely-used – and vital — services online.
The repercussions are serious.
Change in traffic on the Rogers network since July 7, 2022
At least a half a million merchants use Interac debit payments, which rely on the Rogers network. Government services, including the ArriveCan app, have been impacted. The Niagara Health authority had to cancel radiation therapy appointments. Some cities have warned Rogers customers they may have trouble contacting 9-1-1 in emergencies.
"We have become remarkably fragile because of the rapid pace of innovation and the rapid pace of implementation of new techniques and new forms of technology," said economist Dan Ciuriak, a senior fellow with the Centre for International Governance and Innovation.
This needs to be a "wake up call," he said, not just for Rogers but for Canada's wireless communications infrastructure as a whole.
"We're talking about moving into the Metaverse. We're still in the dinoverse unfortunately, and this is pretty bad for Canada business-wise."
Loyalty to 1 company leaves you vulnerable
In an email to some corporate customers, Rogers blamed the disruption on an outage within its core network. There was no estimate for full restoration, though some services appeared to be returning to normal late Friday.
While Rogers will have to further explain what led to such a significant failure, Ciuriak said Canada has "lagged" in its development of wireless network hardware compared to other countries, as well with its security.
Tyler Chamberlain, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management, isn't as critical of the country's wireless communications infrastructure, noting these types of service interruptions are more common in other countries.
He said it would be "really expensive" to build any system that "never fails."
© Kate Dubinski/CBC
Who's to blame?
The responsibility lies with a company like Rogers when its services fail, said Soberman.
"I think the real issue here is that Rogers has a problem in their systems and they obviously aren't managing it very well," he said, noting the the other major wireless and internet providers in Canada haven't had such major disruptions in such a short period of time as Rogers has in the past two years.
Federal government critics are demanding an investigation into the Rogers service disruption.
"Given the critical infrastructure that's affected, and that the CRTC itself is affected, the cause of the Rogers outage should be immediately explained," Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said in a statement shared on Twitter, calling for an emergency parliamentary committee meeting to "make sure it doesn't happen again."
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh claimed the widespread disruption to businesses and services is a consequence of the Liberal government "protecting the profits of telecoms giants."
Ciuriak said the government has a regulatory responsibility but it stops there.
"You would not expect a government bureaucrat to understand the software requirements to ensure that systems are robust and resilient," he said.
A vital service needing regulation?
Although the CRTC has declared broadband internet a basic telecommunications service, it's not a utility like water or power, which are mostly run by Crown corporations or quasi-Crown corporations, Chamberlain added.
But Soberman said the government may want to consider treating the wireless and internet services in a similar fashion to ensure there is limited disruption to business and vital services like 911.
"[The] internet is providing an infrastructure that is as important as the electrical system, is as important as the water, is certainly as important as the postal system," he said.
There could be a means of other wireless or internet companies stepping in to mitigate a disruption like this, he suggested.
"You might be able to make some kind of a law or regulation that would ensure that service is provided all the time to people, even if one of the suppliers has a problem."
The CRTC does have rules regarding the telecom networks ensuring cellphone users are still able to contact 911 even without wireless service. But the regulator did not immediately reply to CBC's question about whether that rule was breached as a result of the Rogers outage.
Nick Logan - CBC
You didn't have to be a Rogers customer to feel the sense of dread when waking up to the news of a widespread wireless and internet outage Friday morning. The day, for millions of Canadians, was already off to a bad start.
At a Starbucks in Toronto, there was no quick tap of a debit card to get your caffeine fix on the run, as the disruption affected online payment systems across the country. Commuters in Vancouver were advised they may not be able to pay transit fares with debit cards. Cafes and libraries still offering Wi-Fi became makeshift offices. Any convenience to working from home became an inconvenience for those relying on the telecom giant's services.
It's the second major Rogers disruption in about 14 months. The company admitted to its 11 million wireless subscribers: "Today we have let you down."
The Canadian economy, and everyday life, is tethered to our communications networks, and when they go down, like Rogers did for much of the day Friday, there is no universal Plan B to keep widely-used – and vital — services online.
The repercussions are serious.
Change in traffic on the Rogers network since July 7, 2022
At least a half a million merchants use Interac debit payments, which rely on the Rogers network. Government services, including the ArriveCan app, have been impacted. The Niagara Health authority had to cancel radiation therapy appointments. Some cities have warned Rogers customers they may have trouble contacting 9-1-1 in emergencies.
"We have become remarkably fragile because of the rapid pace of innovation and the rapid pace of implementation of new techniques and new forms of technology," said economist Dan Ciuriak, a senior fellow with the Centre for International Governance and Innovation.
This needs to be a "wake up call," he said, not just for Rogers but for Canada's wireless communications infrastructure as a whole.
"We're talking about moving into the Metaverse. We're still in the dinoverse unfortunately, and this is pretty bad for Canada business-wise."
Loyalty to 1 company leaves you vulnerable
In an email to some corporate customers, Rogers blamed the disruption on an outage within its core network. There was no estimate for full restoration, though some services appeared to be returning to normal late Friday.
While Rogers will have to further explain what led to such a significant failure, Ciuriak said Canada has "lagged" in its development of wireless network hardware compared to other countries, as well with its security.
Tyler Chamberlain, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management, isn't as critical of the country's wireless communications infrastructure, noting these types of service interruptions are more common in other countries.
He said it would be "really expensive" to build any system that "never fails."
© Kate Dubinski/CBC
Merchants at the Covent Garden Market in London, Ont., told customers it was cash only on Friday due to the Rogers outage. The Interac system for debit payments relies on Rogers; credit payments would also be interrupted in businesses using Rogers internet.
Part of the problem is that, whether it's in our business or personal lives, we often rely on one company for all of our telecommunications services, said Chamberlain, which is something companies like Rogers, Bell and Shaw offer as an incentive for slightly lower prices.
"[That's] one of the things that maybe you want to … reconsider because if you are all-in-one and that one goes down, you really are isolated," he said, especially for those working from home full time. Though, he admitted that's not necessarily an option in rural parts of the country.
Businesses relying on wireless networks may want to consider the same thing, added David Soberman, a marketing professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
"If cashless payment systems are based on one network, you may find that some companies basically contract with two different [wireless or internet] suppliers so that they have one option if the other fails," he said.
"But not all companies can afford all those backups."
Part of the problem is that, whether it's in our business or personal lives, we often rely on one company for all of our telecommunications services, said Chamberlain, which is something companies like Rogers, Bell and Shaw offer as an incentive for slightly lower prices.
"[That's] one of the things that maybe you want to … reconsider because if you are all-in-one and that one goes down, you really are isolated," he said, especially for those working from home full time. Though, he admitted that's not necessarily an option in rural parts of the country.
Businesses relying on wireless networks may want to consider the same thing, added David Soberman, a marketing professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
"If cashless payment systems are based on one network, you may find that some companies basically contract with two different [wireless or internet] suppliers so that they have one option if the other fails," he said.
"But not all companies can afford all those backups."
Who's to blame?
The responsibility lies with a company like Rogers when its services fail, said Soberman.
"I think the real issue here is that Rogers has a problem in their systems and they obviously aren't managing it very well," he said, noting the the other major wireless and internet providers in Canada haven't had such major disruptions in such a short period of time as Rogers has in the past two years.
Federal government critics are demanding an investigation into the Rogers service disruption.
"Given the critical infrastructure that's affected, and that the CRTC itself is affected, the cause of the Rogers outage should be immediately explained," Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner said in a statement shared on Twitter, calling for an emergency parliamentary committee meeting to "make sure it doesn't happen again."
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh claimed the widespread disruption to businesses and services is a consequence of the Liberal government "protecting the profits of telecoms giants."
Ciuriak said the government has a regulatory responsibility but it stops there.
"You would not expect a government bureaucrat to understand the software requirements to ensure that systems are robust and resilient," he said.
A vital service needing regulation?
Although the CRTC has declared broadband internet a basic telecommunications service, it's not a utility like water or power, which are mostly run by Crown corporations or quasi-Crown corporations, Chamberlain added.
But Soberman said the government may want to consider treating the wireless and internet services in a similar fashion to ensure there is limited disruption to business and vital services like 911.
"[The] internet is providing an infrastructure that is as important as the electrical system, is as important as the water, is certainly as important as the postal system," he said.
There could be a means of other wireless or internet companies stepping in to mitigate a disruption like this, he suggested.
"You might be able to make some kind of a law or regulation that would ensure that service is provided all the time to people, even if one of the suppliers has a problem."
The CRTC does have rules regarding the telecom networks ensuring cellphone users are still able to contact 911 even without wireless service. But the regulator did not immediately reply to CBC's question about whether that rule was breached as a result of the Rogers outage.
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