A major outage in the network of one of Canada’s largest telecommunications operators closed this Friday (07.08.2022) access to banking, transportation and government for millions of people.
Almost every facet of life was disrupted. Canadians who often work from home flocked to cafes and public libraries that still offered Internet access, or gathered outside hotels to pick up a signal.
Canada’s border services agency said its mobile app for arriving travelers was affected. Cashless payment systems in shops were also unusable, while banks reported problems with ATMs.
Services are still interrupted
More than 12 hours after Rogers, Canada’s leading internet, phone and cable TV provider, suffered the massive blackout, the company was still unable to restore services.
Rogers has not yet explained the causes that caused the massive blackout, which began around 11:00 CET on Friday, and limited himself to pointing out in a statement that his technicians are working to solve the problem. The company also apologized for the chaos it has caused, which is affecting both individual users and large companies that depend on its services.
Rogers has some 9 million mobile phone users and some 3 million customers for its internet and cable TV services.
Other ISPs rely on Rogers for their services. In addition, the country’s second largest internet and telephone operator, Bell, also experienced some problems this Friday.
The blackout is affecting everything from ATMs and electronic payment systems to the emergency telephone number, 911, the country’s largest airline, Air Canada, and the customs service.
Business operated only cash
In Toronto, Canada’s largest city and one of Rogers’ main markets, many merchants were operating only with cash as their electronic terminals were blocked.
Rogers clients in the city have had to resort to cafes, department stores and even the subway, which offer free internet to their clients, to access their emails and communicate with their companies and family.
In the second largest country in the world, and one of the least densely populated, the lack of internet and telephony extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast.
Activity reduced by 25%
Organizations dedicated to the control of internet traffic pointed out that the activity in Canada was reduced by 25% on Friday, which indicates the severity of the blackout.
Canada’s Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne expressed his concern on Twitter, saying the Ministry had stressed to Rogers the importance of the issue being resolved “as soon as possible.”
On Twitter and other social networks, Rogers customers are expressing their outrage with the company, which in 2021 already suffered another similar blackout, although of shorter duration. The firm then blamed the problems on updating the software system.
jc (reuters, efe, CBC Toronto, )