MACON, Ga. — Thousands of people across the country are getting their phone services back after AT&T had a massive outage Thursday morning.
At 11:15 a.m. AT&T released a statement that said: "Some of our customers are experiencing wireless interruptions this morning. Our network teams took immediate action and so-far three quarters of our network has been restored. We are working as quickly as possible to restore service to remaining customers."
At Mercer University electrical and computer engineering professor Anthony Choi wasn't able to teach a class because he couldn't use his phone to sign onto his computer.
"There are many reasons obviously. So some reasons might be more of a cosmic event," Choi said.
He said while a solar flare could cause network outages, he doesn't think that's what happened Thursday, because he said a solar flare would have affected more than just AT&T networks.
Cody Glisson is an AT&T customer who said it was a big shock to wake up to.
"Kinda lost for a second, you know. Like 'Oh man, what am I gonna do, how am I gonna call anybody?'" Glisson said.
He owns Glisson Tree Service, so a lot of his work is making calls each day.
"Not too bad right now, but if it continues for more than a day, it'll kind of be a issue," Glisson said.
Choi was in the same boat. He said it's likely AT&T went down because of the complex technology networks use.
"Basically, these networks have very complicated computer networks and computer systems and communications. So they have to constantly be upgrading and doing those types of things, and doing security patches," Choi said.
He said that's where something could quickly go wrong.
"It's basically like on your computer, sometimes you install an update and that update messes, ends up messing up your computer. In that case, you have to like un-install it, kind of go back to a previous state so that your computer's functioning again," Choi said.
Choi said the problem could have been worse if it prevented people from calling 911. According to the 911 website, all wireless phones can call 911.
But without active service, the phone can't share your location with a call center. That's why it's important to make sure you tell the dispatcher your location if you ever find yourself in that situation.