Verizon Wireless’ LTE network ground to a halt on Wednesday, as users of the HTC Thunderbolt handset reported difficulties getting online. As word began to spread, Verizon acknowledged on its Twitter page that it was experiencing “an issue” with the service, following up with a post stating that the problem had been identified and the telco was “working with major vendors to restore connections.”

April 28, 2011

1 Min Read
Verizon's LTE network goes down
Verizon Wireless' LTE service has been down for more than 24 hours

Verizon Wireless’ LTE network ground to a halt on Wednesday, as users of the HTC Thunderbolt handset reported difficulties getting online. As word began to spread, Verizon acknowledged on its Twitter page that it was experiencing “an issue” with the service, following up with a post stating that the problem had been identified and the telco was “working with major vendors to restore connections.”

At the time of writing, the service was still down, and no further details as to the cause or when services will resume were available.

Thunderbolt users are reporting that the issue appears to extend beyond simply being unable to access the LTE service; many are complaining that that can’t connect to 3G or any other service, while subscribers to Verizon’s LTE wireless access card and hotspot offerings have also been unable to connect. According to a statement from Verizon, LTE handset users will still be able to make calls but some “may experience a 1X RTT (3G) data connection during this time.” The company said it expected to see the network restored on a market-by-market basis

For Verizon, the timing couldn’t be worse: the company was due to launch its second LTE-enabled handset, Samsung’s Droid Charge, on Thursday. While there’s been no official announcement on the subject, it seems unlikely that the launch will go ahead while services are down.

Verizon’s Deepak Kakadia is speaking on day 2 of the LTE World Summit in Amsterdam, in May

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