- AT&T suffered a network outage due to Winter Storm Fern that affected thousands of users
- Power conditions are still impacting AT&T users in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, the operator said
- Analyst Daryl Schoolar said that backup power is very important in these kinds of outages
The aftermath of Winter storm Fern hit AT&T with an outage that affected thousands of users, according to Downdetector.
“Power issues and road conditions continue to impact restoration in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee,” an AT&T spokeswoman told Fierce. “Our Network Disaster Recovery (NDR) program, the largest of its kind in the industry, continues to bring in and deploy generators, additional assets, and specialized personnel in these areas to restore service as quickly and safely as possible.”
However, the wireless network is working across the country in states from Arkansas to Wisconsin, the spokesperson said.
Like rivals T-Mobile and Verizon, the operator had told Fierce that it had deployed assets to cope with Fern.
Fern delivered snow, ice and freezing rain across the country, from Texas to Maine. Thirteen people died due to the storm and over 800,000 customers were left without power.
The AT&T spokeswoman said that its FirstNet response operations group is also on the ground and has responded to nearly 20 requests from public safety to support their emergency communications so far. FirstNet personal continue to work with federal, state, and local officials on our response efforts, she added.
This AT&T outage was on the heels of a massive Verizon outage on January 14, 2026, which Verizon said was due to a "software issue."
Backup power
Recon Analytics Daryl Schoolar said to Fierce that the storm showed the need for backup power to support their network. “For a situation like we have with this winter storm, the most important thing the company can do to avoid an outage is to have backup power source at every site,” Schoolar said.