Verizon Wireless Customers Experience Third Outage in 30 Days

Verizon Wireless is reportedly experiencing its third widespread service outage this month; days after its 4G LTE network went down for some users. The outage has been widely reported in the media as customers head to Verizon Wireless’ online community forums to vent their frustrations.

Customers in parts of Florida, Ohio, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Chicago are just some of the areas people have cited as having both their 3G and 4G connectivity knocked out of commissions.

“No 4G or 3G in Indianapolis,” wrote on commenter. “At least I got a recording when I called Customer Service stating that they were aware of the problem and actively working on it,” he said.

However, Verizon released a statement saying otherwise, “We’re investigating reports of some customers experiencing trouble accessing the 4G LTE network. The network itself continues to operate and all customers continue to be able to make calls, send text messages, and utilize data services. 3G devices are operating normally.”

The most recent outage, hit Dec. 21, affected 4G LTE customers from San Francisco to New York City. It took Verizon officials several hours to issue an official statement in that case, in which they said company engineers had resolved the “issue” with the 4G networks during the early-morning hours.

However, the service had another outage even earlier in the month. On Dec. 6 some customers saw a loss in service – where an unknown amount of customers were affected.

Verizon’s 4G networks reach 200 million users in 190 markets across the United States, and the carrier offers more than a dozen 4G-enabled smartphones and tablets. These recent outage issues test Verizon’s claim that it has the most reliable wireless network, something it advertises constantly to give itself a leg up against its other major rivals, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

On Dec. 12 an agreement was announced with a company called SpectrumCo, which is a joint venture between Comcast, Time Warner Cable, ad Bright House Networks to buy 122 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum covering some 259 million people. The deal, which came at a $3.6 billion price tag, is now being investigated by the Department of Justice in order to determine whether it could hurt competition in both the wireless and cable industries.

Even with the outages being fixed, it looks like Verizon will have some tough months ahead for the company and for its customers.