© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The AT&T company logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Photo archive
(Reuters) – AT&T (NYSE:) will credit customers a full day of service for the carrier's more than 10-hour outage on Thursday that affected more than 70,000 users, saying it was “the right thing to do.”
“I believe this approach is entirely manageable while achieving the 2024 business goals we have set and our stated financial guidance,” CEO John Stankey told employees in a letter.
Service was restored Thursday evening on AT&T's 5G network, which covers about 290 million people across the United States.
An initial review found that the outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used while working to expand the network, the company said, ruling out a cyberattack.
“Outages sometimes have huge impacts on some subscribers that can be greater than the face value of the credit,” Stankey said. “For that reason, I think crediting those customers with essentially a full day of service is the right thing to do.”
The credit will be applied automatically, while prepaid customers will have options available if they are affected, he added.
An AT&T spokesperson declined Sunday to say how many customers would receive the billing credit or how much it would cost the company.
AT&T said it will work with mid-market and business customers to address their concerns.
The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it was investigating the incident. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working with AT&T to understand the cause.
