Updated: Frontier Communications Outage

August 3, 2011

For the second day in row, thousands of Frontier Communications customers were without phone and internet service Wednesday.

The outage was described by Karen Miller, spokesperson for Frontier as a “large issue” with an AT&T circuit.

Phone and high speed internet experienced a failure just before 8 a.m., leaving Frontier customers unable to call outside of their local exchange. Phone service appeared to have been restored by about 8:20 a.m. in the Molino, Walnut Hill, Bratt, Atmore, Huxford and Monroeville exchanges. But  high speed and dialup internet customers were still unable to access the internet for hours. By 10:30 a.m., internet service was restored for most customers, but reaching some websites was impossible at times.

As of 7:30 p.m., Miller said AT&T had restored service on their circuit that carries Frontier traffic between Atmore and Atlanta.

A NorthEscambia.com test call to 911, made at the request of Escambia County officials, indicated that 911 service was still available in Florida during the period.

Tuesday Outage

Phone circuits in the Atmore central office required resetting on Tuesday, according to Miller, creating the “toll isolation” problem for about 45 minutes.

The problem impacted Frontier customers in the Molino, Walnut Hill, Bratt, Atmore, Huxford and Monroeville exchanges.

Frontier high speed internet customers experienced difficulties reaching some websites on Tuesday. According to Miller, the problem was with an unstable circuit between Frontier in Atmore and AT&T in Atlanta.

Comments

47 Responses to “Updated: Frontier Communications Outage”

  1. Sara on August 4th, 2011 10:36 am

    You should not have to say THANKS for adequate phone/internet service being provided…by paying the bill is the only thanks they need…

  2. Stokely on August 4th, 2011 9:20 am

    I dumped Frontier a few months ago due to poor internet service. I now use a Verizon MiFi for internet access and I also use Verizon’s Home Connect for my home phone. I was able to keep the same phone number that I had with Frontier. The only thing I miss is Frontiers Telemarketing Control service. Even though I registered with the Do Not Call registry, I am getting more telemarketing calls since switching to Verizon :(

  3. ed on August 4th, 2011 7:29 am

    frontier always puts the blame on someone else, or says there is no problem even if everyone is without service. it’s odd that century, flomaton, bay minette, pensacola, evergreen, etc. rarely have outages. gimme a break

  4. name on August 3rd, 2011 9:09 pm

    ….. when I called, Frontier denied there was a problem in this area today. This has happened more than once. Seems their own technicians are not even aware when the customers have no service.

    What other options do we have? Can there be more than 1 internet provider in this area???

  5. jd on August 3rd, 2011 8:31 pm

    Frotnier spent 3 days last week and still did not have internet fixed.Called them agian Monday and they said it was a problem in New york and they had been working on it for 2 weeks–internet was connecting and disconnecting–no Estimated Time of Repair–Takes forever to download and loses connection

  6. concerned citizen on August 3rd, 2011 6:47 pm

    Frontier: The dark clouds are gathering. Shape up or ship out!!

  7. Atmore G on August 3rd, 2011 5:37 pm

    >>EMD Good point.. I did read that, but I guess the way I look at it, I pay Frontier every month for the service, and they are the only ones I have any recourse with.. By the way, I am not overly fond of AT&T either..

  8. Catherine on August 3rd, 2011 5:18 pm

    I live in Los Angeles and the internet was down for a couple hours this morning – 8/3/11. Internet speeds for AT&T/Yahoo have been atrociously slow. I wish AT&T would fix these issues so we may get what we are paying for!

  9. EMD on August 3rd, 2011 5:00 pm

    Atmore G.

    I thought I remembered reading that the problem was with some AT and T equipment. No time to check it out now.

  10. Atmore G on August 3rd, 2011 4:53 pm

    The level of service provided by Frontier is unacceptable.. There have been several outages in the past year.. Before coming to this area, I had a major provider for eight years and had only one outage, and my service was restored quickly.. If you have a business to run, this sort of thing really hurts.. There were many stores in the Atmore area on a cash only basis this morning.. I too will be looking for service elsewhere

  11. EMD on August 3rd, 2011 4:46 pm

    WIlliam:

    Thanks. That is interesting. I would like to know what all those 9 s were about.

  12. William on August 3rd, 2011 4:43 pm

    >>>If the service is down, how are folks posting comments?

    Many people use their cell phone or cellular aircards/routers. When Frontier was completely down this morning, our traffic from the Frontier network dropped to near zero, while the traffic from Verizon, AT&T, T-mobile, etc. increased dramatically over normal.

  13. EMD on August 3rd, 2011 4:41 pm

    If the service is down, how are folks posting comments?

  14. William on August 3rd, 2011 4:40 pm

    >>>A little while ago, my land line (Frontier) phone rang about 3 times. On the caller Id, it saiu, “1-999-999-9999 ”

    We received the same call on our Frontier landline.

  15. EMD on August 3rd, 2011 4:39 pm

    A little while ago, my land line (Frontier) phone rang about 3 times. On the caller Id, it saiu, “1-999-999-9999 ” The speaker id said, “Call from out of area.” I did not answer when I saw that. Has this happened to anyone else?

    My internet service has been coming and going.

  16. Alan Bell on August 3rd, 2011 4:33 pm

    @Question – it works great…go by their store and ask them to tell you about the MiFi service, you can get varying levels of capacity each month…as far as speed is concerned, I am finding MiFi to be VERY competitive with Frontier…maybe even faster!! And well, it WORKS! Something I can’t say about Frontier.

    We have decided to replace Frontier phone and internet service with Verizon MiFi. We never really needed home phones (we all have wireless service) so we are actually going to save some $$ each month!!

  17. William on August 3rd, 2011 3:51 pm

    >>Just got off the phone with Frontier (3:35PM) and they confirm that Internet service is STILL down (so it was NOT restored at 10:30 AM)

    It was restored at our office about 10:10 this morning, but it’s still having the same intermittent problems that is has had since Sunday — sometimes certain websites are unavailable, like Google, Gmail, Facebook and even Frontier’ own site, while other sites are just fine. Minutes later, all will be well before failing again.

    We are seeing an almost normal level of traffic from Frontier right now on NorthEscambia.com, so a fair number of people do have at least partial service back.

  18. question on August 3rd, 2011 3:47 pm

    Alan, how does that work with Verizone…i have it too and have been told about it, but not sure of how it works and what the cost is…..I have been having trouble connecting to the internet via frontier for over a month now…sometimes it will connect and sometimes it won’t…thought it was just an older router

  19. Alan Bell on August 3rd, 2011 3:39 pm

    Just got off the phone with Frontier (3:35PM) and they confirm that Internet service is STILL down (so it was NOT restored at 10:30 AM)…they have absolutely NO IDEA of an estimated time of repair (ETR).

    But get this…they admitted that it has been “going in and out” for the last several days and has just finally “went out” today. Doesn’t it make sense that they would have run down the problem BEFORE it finally went out?!?!

    I don’t think Frontier’s service is going to improve unless MANY businesses meet with them to address this issues…and then that still may not correct their issues!!

  20. Alan Bell on August 3rd, 2011 2:44 pm

    So long Frontier…this was the LAST straw…I am now a Verizon MiFi customer and it is great…in fact, it is the only way that I am posting this comment!! I will no longer even have a land line at my house!!

  21. mary on August 3rd, 2011 1:02 pm

    Remember when we didnt have to worry about all this….I have all my stuff w/Frontier..phone/DSL internet & Dish TV..GUESS WHAT??? I am not complaining about it…Things happen…from what I understand today most people have cell phones & not land lines..I have a land line & NO cell phone…

  22. tallyho on August 3rd, 2011 12:56 pm

    Well Verizion enternet and phone is looking better everyday. And as for as the Dish and Direct you see the same stuff over and over and over along with two hundred of the the 250 package that is channels you do not want to watch, marking channels

  23. bama54 on August 3rd, 2011 12:39 pm

    Fiber optic has been in the area since 1986. Just not for the common folks.

  24. sam on August 3rd, 2011 12:15 pm

    i see ms miller is putting it on at&t. odd that the only circuit is frontiers. it it was at&t a lot more circuits would be envolved. try again ms miller. your repeated service problems can’t be blamed on them.

  25. M Jackson on August 3rd, 2011 11:47 am

    This has been an ongoing problem for eons!!!!! Why can’t the FCC and PSC put Frontier “on notice” to get this problem corrected or get out of business here. It seems to me, for the most part, that Frontier has a monopoly on residents who do not have cable.

  26. Frustrated Business Owner on August 3rd, 2011 11:40 am

    Did not see where William has written anything on the State grant to bring fiber optics into the area. My mistake if it has been reported and I missed it.

  27. senior on August 3rd, 2011 11:25 am

    Karen Miller, spokesperson for Frontier, PUT THIS BACK ON AT&T!!!!!!! Is that the reason we pay more for our less than good, always down phone and internet services???????? I think not!!!!!

  28. bullwinkle on August 3rd, 2011 10:38 am

    William is the man .. thanks for covering this

  29. bama54 on August 3rd, 2011 10:35 am

    I hope the new business coming to the area don’t notice!!! Maybe time for Frontier to go back to Verizon for their needs.

  30. Bob on August 3rd, 2011 10:28 am

    I am with leef; I have no other option and my internet has time sensitive material that applies to my business. Must be filed on time and daily. To call and be informed they have 5 working days to complete a ticket is unreasonable. I think Mr. Corman would really be disgusted with this bunch of clowns from Frontier.

  31. Resident on August 3rd, 2011 10:27 am

    >>Wonder why none of the news media is reporting on this?

    What do you think NorthEscambia is? It’s the largest media around here. Unless you mean to say “other” news media, then I understand. The Atmore papers won’t write “bad” things about Frontier. They only cover the “good” news that is allowed and approved by the city. Frontier gives too much money to the chamber to sponsor things like Williams Station Day instead of fixing our service.

  32. Frustrated Business Owner on August 3rd, 2011 10:22 am

    We loose DSL connection 3 to 5 times daily its a joke. They have swapped routers 4 times.
    Atmore residents should talk to your councilmen. If approved there are state funds that will run high speed fiberoptics to your front door at no cost to the consumer. Then you can choose your provider for high speed internet. Frontier is using the old “its going to cost jobs” to hold the council hostage.
    How long until the good of the public is more important than the “good old boys network”?
    Wonder why none of the news media is reporting on this?

  33. leef on August 3rd, 2011 10:17 am

    This is getting old, I am trying to operate a business, I have no other option but Frontier for phone service, and this stinks. I have spoke with some rude people at Frontier, I guess they don’t realize the customers like me are paying their salary,

  34. Molino Resident on August 3rd, 2011 9:38 am

    Funny thing…my husband mentioned the other day about a service / solicitation call from Frontier wanting us to bundle a few services and that it would “save” us money. We also have problems from time to time. But, I do understand that businesses run into problems from time to time… To say the least, we did not jump on board with the bundled package they were offering.

    It’s easy to get on the band-wagon and yell and scream when things are bad. How many times do we say thank you when things are fine? Sometimes, I think we need to step back to focus on what we do have, the benefits. We get so rushed and everything needs to be done yesterday and done faster and faster. 100% doesn’t seem to be good enough anymore. I think we have become use to being spoiled in our lives.

    Do most of us really know what it is like to not have something? Heck, if we’re not happy just change the services…it’s not that big of a deal. When we’ve had enough we usually change our own behaviors, right – we obviously can’t change the behaviors of others! How many have restricted their children of their phone/interent before? How terrible is it really? We all can survive without service from time – to – time. Gives us time to get some other things done. Other more important things. (Although, in REAL emergencies, there should be a 2nd method of communication available. That just makes sense.)

  35. Terry on August 3rd, 2011 9:23 am

    9:20 and we still don’t have internet. Having to use my phone to see what is going on in our world.

  36. Daniel Buckley, DMD on August 3rd, 2011 8:48 am

    This effected us being able to do business yesterday

  37. sniper on August 3rd, 2011 8:27 am

    Our internet service is a JOKE!!!! i wont say who our provider is but they have NO CLUE about whats going on. Our company relies heavily on internet access and MOST of the time we dont have it. I have to power up my mobile-hot-spot on my phone just so we can operate. Its getting really OLD!!!!!

  38. Molino-Anon on August 3rd, 2011 7:19 am

    Maintaining a network can have its ups and downs, not all services are as good as another. DSL has its issues. Yet, on the other hand, its Frontiers job to hire competent people who can detect and maintain network integrity so things like this would not happen.

  39. Jane on August 3rd, 2011 7:01 am

    The phone won’t work so they don’t take the days it won’t work off your bill? I don’t think so. Good for you for going to another phone company! They will get the message when they aren’t making money!

  40. dad on August 3rd, 2011 2:36 am

    My Frontier phone used to go out everytime it rained. I haven’t had any problems since I switched to Bright House bundle, Tv, phone and internet. Knock on wood.

  41. Oak Grove Bud on August 2nd, 2011 10:26 pm

    I called the other day and told the rep that my phone and internet had been out two times in three days, and about ten times in the last month or so. My neighbors are having the same problems also. I rely on this phone service as my cell phone reception is not that good where I live. The rep told me that they were not aware of any problems, current or past. What if a person needed to call 911 and when you pick up the phone and no dial tone? It’s been REAL regular lately, Maybe time to shop for a new cell phone upgrade and Wild Blue internet. I’m beginning to believe that Frontier doesn’t have any body working locally that knows how to fix these problems. It’s getting to be a regular thing.

  42. Jason Cox on August 2nd, 2011 9:53 pm

    This is why i switched to MEDIACOM. Everytime it rained our phones were scratchy. Frontier didn’t want to fix our phones( our meaning everyone for about a 1/4 mile). Till I threatened to call the Public Service Commission. Next month my internet went up. And the next month and the next. No one could explain then suddenly it was supposed to always be that price they say. My neighbors weren’t paying that. PSC can’ do anything about internet. So i switched companies.

    Did anyone read the paper Frontier sent out about service? It says in so many words, even if the service fails you pay them. Go cable. At least when its out you get a rebate.

  43. Barbara Kilcrease on August 2nd, 2011 9:02 pm

    My sister was without her phone service for four days and they were always checking on it!!!!!!!!! It was FINALLY fixed LATE this afternoon!

  44. ABR on August 2nd, 2011 7:59 pm

    I called about my high speed internet and was told there was nothing wrong with it or my router. Sheesh….

  45. T on August 2nd, 2011 5:20 pm

    And its really getting old. I’m about to just have my phone service disconected,
    Frontier is getting as bad as Gulf Power around here.

  46. LuLu on August 2nd, 2011 4:47 pm

    That’s odd…that’s what I was told when I called and told them that I couldn’t call anyone except other frontier costomers.

  47. Susan on August 2nd, 2011 3:30 pm

    Thanks William/

  NEfb