Verizon confirms issues affecting customer phone calls

Verizon confirmed on Friday that “intermittent issues” were affecting its network after New York residents and other East Coast customers found they were having trouble making or receiving calls.

DownDetector, a website that tracks outages, noticed a spike in reports starting around 1:00 p.m. ET. A failure card showed that reports appeared to be concentrated along the East Coast, with many originating in the New York and Boston areas.

A Verizon spokesman said service was restored beginning around 3:00 p.m. ET.

“This afternoon an intermittent issue prevented some customers from making or receiving calls. Our network teams identified and fixed the issue, and all services have been restored,” said a Verizon spokesman.

It’s still unclear what caused the outage or how many customers are affected.

New York City Councilman Justin Brannan was among Verizon users reporting problems Friday afternoon.

“ATTENTION: @Verizon Wireless is experiencing a major cellular outage reportedly affecting calls from mobile devices on the East Coast. Text messaging seems to be working but having trouble making/taking calls,” Brannan wrote on Twitter.

The company acknowledged reported issues while responding to Twitter users who said they were having issues.

“We’re starting to hear some conversations about some issues in this area. We’re gathering more details,” a Verizon representative said in response to Brannan.

In New Jersey, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office also noticed a failure.

“Verizon is experiencing a cellular outage affecting mobile devices. Text 911 for emergency calls if you can’t call,” the sheriff’s office tweeted.