The nation’s top telecom regulator wants to hear directly from you. The Federal Communications Commission is asking Verizon customers, first responders, and local agencies to submit detailed accounts of the recent multi-hour Verizon wireless outage, with a special focus on whether 911 calls failed, got delayed, or behaved unexpectedly.
Why the FCC Wants Your Account of the Verizon Outage
The FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau is running a formal inquiry to understand the scope and public safety impact of the disruption. Carriers already file technical reports through the Network Outage Reporting System, but those filings don’t always capture what people experienced on the ground. First-hand accounts help regulators validate carrier data, pinpoint regional trouble spots, and assess whether critical safeguards worked as intended.
Investigators are looking at what failed, how quickly service was restored, and whether Verizon complied with 911 reliability obligations, including call completion, text-to-911 performance where available, and accurate location delivery for emergency calls. The bureau is also gathering evidence on how outages ripple across hospitals, schools, small businesses, and public-safety answering points.
What to Include in Your FCC Outage Submission
Useful reports are specific.
- Describe where you were, the device and software you used, and what stopped working: voice calls, SMS, MMS, group texts, mobile data, or Wi-Fi calling.
- Note how long you lacked service and whether service returned intermittently.
- Indicate whether people on other carriers could reach you.
- If you tried emergency calling, record exactly what happened, such as fast busy tones, dropped attempts, or routing to a nonlocal center.
For businesses and agencies, include operational impacts:
- Missed service appointments
- Payment disruptions
- Staff safety concerns
- Failures in dispatch and alarm systems
Public safety professionals should share effects on 911 centers, including:
- Spikes in abandoned calls
- Misrouted calls
- Degraded location data
- Backup system activations
Spotlight on 911 Reliability During Verizon Outage
When a carrier’s network falters, mobile devices typically attempt to place 911 calls over any available network. In practice, that safety net can break if signaling pathways are congested, if software updates introduce errors, or if location services and call routing systems are impaired. NENA and APCO have long warned that short-lived outages can overwhelm emergency communications centers and delay help when seconds matter.
Recent history underscores the stakes. A major AT&T outage led public safety officials to report roughly 25,000 failed emergency calls across multiple jurisdictions. In Australia, regulators documented more than 600 failed emergency calls during a nationwide Optus outage, and public reports linked the disruption to several fatalities. The FCC has taken enforcement action before, including a penalty of about $19.5 million following widespread 911 failures tied to another carrier’s outage, signaling that compliance lapses have consequences.
The FCC’s review will also consider performance of modern features such as text-to-911, Next Generation 911 transitions, and Wireless Emergency Alerts. Even if your 911 call ultimately connected, delays, call transfers, or inaccurate location can be crucial data points.
What This Could Change for Outage Reporting and 911
Public input often shapes policy. The investigation could influence future outage reporting timelines, require more diverse network paths and backup power at critical sites, or push carriers to harden 911 routing and location services against software and signaling failures. It may also inform upgrades to the Disaster Information Reporting System, deepen coordination with state 911 boards, and set clearer expectations for customer notifications during prolonged disruptions.
How to File Your Experience with the FCC
You can submit comments through the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System by searching for the Verizon outage proceeding, or by emailing a plain-language description of your experience to [email protected]. Include your city or ZIP code, the timeframe you were affected, the type of service impacted, steps you took to troubleshoot, and the outcome of any 911 attempts. If you represent a public safety agency or local government, note how call handling, staffing, and incident response were affected.
Verizon has acknowledged the disruption and said it is cooperating with regulators. The FCC’s message to the public is straightforward: your specifics can help determine what went wrong, how to prevent a repeat, and whether new safeguards are needed to keep 911 available when everything else goes dark.
