Additional Coverage:
The first presidential debate is set to take place on Thursday at 9 p.m., lasting until 03:32. Meanwhile, customers of the three key U.S. mobile carriers—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—facing disruptions while abroad were informed on Thursday of an ongoing roaming outage. This issue is preventing many from making phone calls, sending texts, or using internet services internationally.
T-Mobile acknowledged the problem, attributing it to a complication with a third-party vendor that’s intermittently affecting international roaming services for multiple carriers, including themselves. Efforts to rectify the situation are underway in cooperation with the involved vendor.
AT&T also confirmed its overseas customers are encountering service problems, despite its domestic network operating normally. The company is collaborating with its roaming service provider to resolve the issue and restore connectivity.
Verizon reported a significant impact from the outage, with approximately 30% of its international customers unable to place calls. The company is actively working towards a solution.
The common link between these disruptions is Syniverse, the third-party service critical for international roaming capabilities across these carriers. A disruption that began Thursday morning has been pinpointed as the cause. Syniverse has expressed its commitment to resolving the difficulties in partnership with its network partners, urging patience amongst users affected.
Personal accounts and frustration over the ordeal have surfaced on social media, with individuals facing various challenges such as inability to contact Uber, access bank accounts online, or navigate using digital maps. Notably, a visitor to Italy with Verizon reported a complete lack of service by Thursday afternoon.
The lack of communication options has been labeled dangerous by some, with affected users urgently requesting updates and solutions from their carriers. Among the voices sharing their experiences was actor Patrick Schwarzenberg, who noted that he and his group were entirely cut off due to the outage while overseas.