Rogers service restored after outage across Canada, which is blamed on a router failure

A general view of the Rogers Building, Rogers Communications headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 22, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

July 9 (Reuters) – Rogers Communications (RCIb.TO) On Saturday, it said its services were nearly operating at full capacity after a major outage, which it blamed on a router malfunction after maintenance work.

Service outages at one of Canada’s largest telecom operators have shut down banks, transportation and government entry for millions of people.

“We now believe we have reduced the cause of network system failures following a maintenance update on our core network, which caused some of our routers to fail early Friday morning,” Rogers CEO Tony Staveri said in a statement.

Canadians crowded cafes and public libraries that still had an internet connection and hovered outside hotels to catch a signal on Friday. The country’s Border Services Agency said the outage affected the mobile app for incoming travelers while cashless payment systems stopped working. Police across Canada said some callers cannot reach emergency services via 911 calls. Read more

The outage, Rogers’ second in 15 months, sparked outrage from Canadians and calls for the government to expand competition in the telecoms sector.

With about 10 million wireless subscribers and 2.25 million retail internet subscribers, Rogers is the largest provider in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province and home to its largest city, Toronto. Rogers, BCE Inc (BCE.TO) and Telus Corp (T.TO) Controlling 90% of the market share in Canada.

Financial institutions and banks, including the Toronto Dominion Bank (TD.TO) The Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO)On Friday, a power outage disrupted their services. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) It said ATMs and online banking were affected.

In the statement, Staveri said the company will “proactively” lend to affected customers on Friday and invest in its network and technology.

Last year, Rogers attributed a major outage to an Ericsson-related glitch (ERICb.ST) system update.

On Saturday, Ericsson said it was aware of the outage and was in regular contact with the company to restore service.

Critics said the outage demonstrated the need for more competition in the telecoms sector, adding to criticism about the company’s industrial dominance.

Earlier this year, the Canadian Competition Bureau blocked Rogers’ bid to take over rival Shaw Communications (SJRb.TO) In a deal worth C$20 billion, saying it would hinder competition in a country where telecom prices are among the highest in the world. The merger is still waiting for the final verdict. Read more

The report was submitted by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Subanta Mukherjee in Stockholm. Editing by Alison Williams, Diane Kraft and Chris Reese

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