AT&T CEO shares letter to employees after cell network outage: 'we fell short'

AT&T CEO John Stankey shared a letter sent to employees on Sunday after the company's cellular network experienced an outage on Thursday that impacted tens of thousands of Americans.

AT&T's network's hourslong outage on Thursday resulted in about 73,000 outage reports on Downdetector, a website that tracks internet and cellular network outages.

"Thursday was a challenging day for our company," Stankey wrote. "Our purpose is to connect people to greater possibility, and we fell short of what we typically do so well each and every day."

"Our initial review of the cause of Thursday's outage indicates it was due to the application and execution of an incorrect process used while working to expand our network. We are investing billions to grow our network and deliver an even more exceptional customer experience. This is both a point of pride and a challenge that always requires care and focus," he explained.

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Stankey wrote that the outage began early Thursday and that about three-quarters of AT&T's customers were able to access the network as they started their days around 5 a.m. CT. 

He explained that the company prioritized FirstNet service restoration to ensure first responders would get their network access back online and that remaining customers were reconnected later in the morning with the network normalized around noon CT.

"No matter the timing, one thing is clear – we let down many of our customers, including many of you and your families. For that, we apologize," the AT&T CEO wrote.

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"For the portion of our consumer and small business customers most impacted by the outage, we are automatically applying an account credit to compensate them for the inconvenience they experienced," Stankey added. "Prepaid customers will have options available to them if they were impacted. We are also working closely with our Mid-Market and Enterprise customers and will address their concerns as those discussions take place."

He explained that "outages sometimes have outsized impacts on some subscribers that may be greater than the face value of the credit. For that reason, I believe that crediting those customers for essentially a full day of service is the right thing to do."

Stankey expressed gratitude for the AT&T teams and frontline employees who took action and collaborated to restore service for customers.

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AT&T's initial investigation indicated the outage was due to "an incorrect process used while working to expand our network." Stankey wrote that AT&T is investing billions to expand its network and improve customer experience, a process which "is both a point of pride and a challenge that always requires care and focus."

"Moments like these are a test of resilience. This is not our first network outage, and it won't be our last – unfortunately, it's the reality of our business. What matters most is how we react, adapt, and improve to deliver the service our customers need and expect," Stankey explained. 

"Every AT&T customer deserves a connectivity experience they can feel confident in and that's exactly what we're going to deliver. While it is not unexpected to encounter challenges as we enhance and expand our network, we have processes and redundancies in place for a reason. We owe it to customers and ourselves to do better, and I know that each and every one of you is committed to that goal."

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"These challenges provide opportunities to identify key learnings that will make us better, and I can tell you that we have already implemented changes to prevent what happened on Thursday," Stankey wrote. 

He added that he's optimistic about AT&T's future given its plans for growth, resiliency and customer experience and wrote, "We have North America's largest wireless network and the nation's largest and fastest-growing fiber network. No company is better suited to answer the call for widespread connectivity than AT&T."