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Cell phone outage leaving Alltel customers in dark

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By KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal Star

Friday, Nov 09, 2007 - 10:25:43 pm CST

A partial outage affecting much of Nebraska left many Alltel cellular phone customers without service Friday night, a problem that could end up causing some customers marital distress.

Dale Ingram, a public relations officer for Alltel, said the outage was affecting “much of the state.”

“It is in a broader area in Nebraska,” he said. “We’re troubleshooting it as we speak.”

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Tell us your phone tales

Did the partial Alltel cellular phone outage Friday night affect your life? If so, please let us know by calling the Journal Star newsroom at (402) 473-7306 or by sending an e-mail to citydesk@journalstar.com.

Please include your name, age and the city in which you live, as well as a phone number or e-mail where you can be reached.

He said the problem started when a switch or switches — equipment that transfers calls when a customer dials a number — went down. Ingram said he expected the problem to be fixed by midnight Friday.

Ingram did not know when the outage began.

U.S. Cellular customer Julie Gans of Lincoln said she had received several phone calls that showed up on her caller ID as coming from her boyfriend’s Alltel cell phone.

But every time she answered, the person on the line turned out to be a stranger.

She said several of her friends, who also have Alltel cell phones, told her of similar problems and of receiving calls from what appeared to be their spouses’ phones but turned out to be from strangers.

Some of those friends told her they were concerned their spouses had given their phones to someone else to use.

“Everybody thinks their wives are at home cheating on them,” she said.

The outage also caused problems for law enforcement Friday night.

Sgt. Tom Trotter of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office said he struggled to reach an accident reconstruction team to attend to a fatal crash on U.S. 77 near Princeton because he also uses an Alltel cell phone.

“We’ve been used to carrying (cell phones),” he said of the sheriff’s office, which uses Alltel cellular phones. “Now you feel crippled when you don’t have one.”

Reach Kevin Abourezk at 473-7225 or kabourezk@journalstar.com.


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More than that... wrote on November 9, 2007 7:52 pm:
" I just spoke with the customer service rep. He stated that it was problems with NEBRASKA, and Louisianna. He told me that they were NOT told what the problem was but I will PROBABLY be fixed in less than 2 hours. ALLTEL is NOT RELIABLE "

 Joe wrote on November 9, 2007 8:05 pm:
" Go figure, Alltel has an outage. Just another part of Alltel's poor service. Everyone should deduct one days service from their bill. Also its time for everyone to complain to the PSC about Alltels past & current history of poor service. "

 Tim wrote on November 9, 2007 8:33 pm:
" We've been getting phone calls in Omaha from strangers all evening that come up on the caller ID as my mother-in-law's Alltel cell phone, but they're not her and the number they dialed (guessing from their Alltel phones) aren't close to my home number. "

 ellfie wrote on November 9, 2007 8:38 pm:
" have had my service back for about 40 minutes or so. can call cell numbers in Omaha, not alltel, but not landlines. Also cannot not reach some landlines here in Lincoln, but not others. Long distance cell to cell seems to be working. No service started about 5 or so I think. Line out the door and all parking full at Alltel on 50 whatever and O. "

 JR wrote on November 9, 2007 8:44 pm:
" I cannot make any calls out and the one's coming in are all wrong numbers. Alltel better refund me! "

 ellfie wrote on November 9, 2007 8:45 pm:
" Think it went out around 5 or so. There was a line out the door at Alltel on 50 something and O at 530. I've had service back since 8 to nite sort of. Can reach Omaha cell phones, but not land lines, some land lines but not others here in Lincoln, and long distance to the east coast works for outgoing, but not incoming calls.. "

 MP wrote on November 9, 2007 8:48 pm:
" This is an unacceptable situation.. not even 611 (customer service) or 911 work. And on the rare occassion when a call does go through, conversations are getting criss-crossed with different parties. There absolutely must be a refund for this interruption from Alltel, or we will be switching carriers. "

 CJ wrote on November 9, 2007 8:51 pm:
" It's sucks we don't have any service; feels like I'm set back a decade and a half. BUT, my opinion is contrary to Joe's. I've had Alltel for years and have rarely had problems. My friends on other networks always seem to have something wrong happening, but I've never had a problem with service. I wish the plans were a little cheaper, but since every carrier is about the same price for the same plan cell phone selection and service are the two factors that affect my decision when it's time to renew and Alltel USUALLY has great service and adequate cell phone selection. "

 Nebraska's only choice for coverage wrote on November 9, 2007 8:51 pm:
" This is the first major issue I've had will Alltel's service. Minor issues with dropped calls have happened here and there. This state really needs another option that covers all corners of the state. I sure hope my house doesn't catch on fire, or the mean old boggie man doesn't visit while the phones are out of service. I won't be able to call my mommy or daddy to come save me. Alltel better have an accurate and honest accounting of what happened and how they will prevent it in the future. Many of us seriously depend on Alltel's wireless service as their sole means of communication. This could be deadly issue. I trust their service to be available for emergency needs plus employment needs. ... but I ramble on, cause I can't call anyone to complain... "

 Lone Wolf wrote on November 9, 2007 8:54 pm:
" I heard it was Callahan's fault "

 b wrote on November 9, 2007 9:08 pm:
" Hey my phone is out to, but every phone company has issues . hopefully they get it fixed soon .. b "

 Dan wrote on November 9, 2007 9:10 pm:
" I've gotten calls tonight from people I don't know on other networks, but my caller ID says it's someone from my phone book. A lady called me and thought I was someone else, and she was using Sprint. Looks like calls to Alltel numbers might be going to the wrong customers too, and somehow being masked by other numbers. "

 Josh wrote on November 9, 2007 9:10 pm:
" I can get a call out about 50% of the time now, but it just goes to a random person. It's kinda fun not know who you're going to end up talking to. I think I might try and play "6 degrees of separation" and see if I can get passed around until I get to my intended target "

 Lori wrote on November 9, 2007 9:19 pm:
" I've had Alltel for over 5 years and have never had anything like this happen before. Be patient they will work it out quickly and resolve the issue and I'm sure they will learn from it. I had Sprint prior to this and their customer service was so bad I had to hold hands with the billing department to prevent being overcharged and I grew to hate "Clare" the automated voice on their customer service lines. Alltel will work it out and make it right by us and if your house catches fire you do what anyone would do without a phone.... go to the neighbors. "

 Jason wrote on November 9, 2007 9:19 pm:
" This is freaking crazy. My wife tried to call her friend and got "Your balance is $4.35". Then she got music playing. My guess is someone kept getting other people's calls and decided to have fun with it. I hope we get a partial refund from this, but as long as service is back by the morning, it's not a mega-big deal. "

 Get a grip wrote on November 9, 2007 9:20 pm:
" A reader says contact the PSC to complain. But readers should no the PSC does not regulate cell phone companies. It would make far more sense to complain to the FCC, which has an online complaint form. But best yet is to complain to Alltel. That said, I've done well with their coverage for years. But I've always kept my home phone because it always works and I took a prepaid plan from Alltel to save paying them or another cell company 60 plus bucks a month. The prepaid costs me maybe ten dollars a month..much cheaper. "

 upset wrote on November 9, 2007 9:31 pm:
" I think its ridiculous that 911 cannot even be reached. this to me is a serious issue. i know that it s not alltels fault but there should still be a back-up plan of some sort. "

 Customer wrote on November 9, 2007 9:36 pm:
" Soon to be a Verizon or AT&T customer. Alltel has been a pain in my side since they bought out Lincoln Telephone. They can leave Nebraska. "

 PC wrote on November 9, 2007 9:37 pm:
" Ok. Dailing out on the cell is FUBAR. I called my landline and from my cell got someone else and the poor guy sounded like this wasn't the first wrong call he had gotten tonight. So then I called my cell from my landline and got my cell. So incoming calls appear to be working. * sigh * "

 outsider wrote on November 9, 2007 9:40 pm:
" There are many other telco (communications) companies that work in the background behind your Cellular providers network. Please don't be small minded enough to just blame your Cellular provider. "

 Jeremy wrote on November 9, 2007 9:42 pm:
" If your cell phone not working is your biggest problem you are very lucky, stop bell acking!!!!! "

 jeremy wrote on November 9, 2007 9:46 pm:
" If you cell phone is your biggest problem your are very luck, get a grip it's only a phone you will live!!!! "

 The Rhymenocerous wrote on November 9, 2007 9:49 pm:
" Let's keep this in perspective - it's not like Alltel's service was great BEFORE tonight anyways. This is just par for the course as far as I am concerned... 11 months until my contract is up - WooHoo! "

 P'd Off wrote on November 9, 2007 9:49 pm:
" I've made and received a total of 2 successful phone calls today on my cell. I now remember why I left Allhell a couple years ago and can't figure out why I ever went back to them! I sure hope that 911 still works if anyone with Allhell phones needs to call it! "

 peb wrote on November 9, 2007 10:07 pm:
" Had Sprint for 6 years and has never once gone out. "

 DR wrote on November 9, 2007 10:09 pm:
" Get a Sprint phone. 12 years and no problems here. "

 Jennifer (in Illinois) wrote on November 9, 2007 10:16 pm:
" I got on here hoping to find out some info. I live near Illinois now, but still have an Alltel cell from Lincoln. The problems go all the way out here. When I tried to call a Nebraska Alltel number, I'd get some random stranger. It was kind of fun. On another note, my sister has Alltel out of Kansas, no problems with them tonight... "

 Adjustments wrote on November 9, 2007 10:24 pm:
" I just got off the phone with Alltel and the gentlemen in billing indicated they are willing to make adjustments on the phone bill for the hours of the outage. The Alltel employee said that the account holder needs to call and request the adjustment for the hours they were without service. Even if it's .50 cents, that's better than nothing and if enough people request adjustments it might make a difference in the future? "

 Bulldog wrote on November 9, 2007 10:32 pm:
" My service came back up right at 10:00 PM. It's so rare that I've had a service issue with Alltel. All carriers have problems from time to time and I've been with Alltel for many years with very few network problems. "

 whaaaaa wrote on November 9, 2007 10:52 pm:
" My god, how did this country survive before cell phones were invented? How pathetic so many people get upset because they can't drive their car and talk on the phone at the same time for a few hours! "

 Chad's Fault! wrote on November 9, 2007 11:07 pm:
" I think Chad had better get this fixed or stop doing those stupid commercials!!!! "

 mere wrote on November 9, 2007 11:15 pm:
" in my opinion this whole thing was hilarious. just proves how terrible altell is. go at&t!! i had some fun trying to contact my friends but calls went to other people. but it wasnt fun cuz i didnt know where they were. sweeeeeet. "

 but its a friday night!! wrote on November 9, 2007 11:26 pm:
" I tried to call Alex; I got Lisa. I tried to call Paul; I got Ron. Someone tried to call Mitch; they got me. "

 Ndugu wrote on November 9, 2007 11:45 pm:
" Those of you that are screaming for some type reimbursement from Alltel for the interruption, good luck. Most likely Alltel has taken good notes from the Time Warner fiasco -when a lot of us were ripped off with their beta software. So far, there hasn't been any good faith from TWC - and I wouldn't expect any from Alltel either! "

 most reliable network? wrote on November 9, 2007 11:50 pm:
" This is off there site guess it is going to cost them alot!!! We own and operate America’s largest network, with coverage across the nation. Giving you the freedom to travel far and wide. We’re committed to providing the nation’s most reliable network, and we strive to make sure every call goes through and stays connected – from birthday greetings from across the country to late-night chats with your pal down the block. We’re so confident in the quality of our network that we offer our customers the wireless industry’s only automatic network guarantee. That means you’ll get an automatic credit on your bill, should you ever lose a connection. No calls to customer service, no trips to the store. It’s a nationwide network you can count on. "

 Unfortunate wrote on November 9, 2007 11:56 pm:
" I have had Alltel for over 10 years and have had no problems. Unfortunately, we had an unexpected death in the family and it has made communication extremely difficult. Just trying to notify other family members and getting a hold of people has been a challenge tonight. However, I expect all will be solved shortly. "

 arch kearney wrote on November 10, 2007 12:04 am:
" Once again, Alltel finds a way to stick it to its customers. You should not have to request a refund, it should just happen. These people are unbelievable. "

 to whaaaaa wrote on November 10, 2007 12:05 am:
" Not everyone who has a cell phone is talking on it while driving. Some of us have kids and want to be able to be reached at any time of the day, or want to be able to call for help from anywhere if the kids are hurt. Not to mention, cell phones are cheaper than land lines these days. "

 figures wrote on November 10, 2007 12:19 am:
" alltel sucks big time i was a alltel customer for 2 yrs and it sucked dropped calls no signal and crackling phone calls was a everyday experience not to mention the minute long lag between send and connection to ring the dialed number verison blows alltel away "

 yoshiki wrote on November 10, 2007 12:42 am:
" I'm charging Alltel a $39 disconnect fee - per day, plus 7% interest until my service is restored, plus a $25 transaction fee, and additional $4 fee 'because I can'. Oh wait, I can't... that's right, I'm the consumer! Oops. Makes me miss the days of the good ol' locally owned & controlled Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph (you can thank the "Telecommunications Act of 1996" for that one ~_~ )... "

 Cary wrote on November 10, 2007 4:02 am:
" I had called Alltel 611 this evening to tell them about the problem of not conecting to Alltel cell number and my voicemail. So what does the Alltel customer service rep do? She reset my voicemail account to reset it, deleting all my voicemails and my out going message and passwords. Thanks Alltel. Way to go! As you can imagine it didn't even fix the issue. It was system wide, nothing to do with my account. "

 Bill wrote on November 10, 2007 5:52 am:
" Actually, it's kind of nice to get a break from the phone calls. I hope this is the worst thing that happens to most of you. It is quite obvious you have no coping skills whatsoever. You're spoiled rotten by the utility services you are used to in Lincoln. There are parts of this state and country that seem to lose phone & electrical service every time it clouds over. I've had Alltel cell service since '94 or '95 and this may have been the first time I've been without service except when travelling. Also, long distance service was out from land line to land line during the same 2 hour period. Like I said, it was kind of relaxing not having a phone stuck to my ear. "

 Really... wrote on November 10, 2007 6:01 am:
" Hey whaaaa... What if their life had depended on making a phone call to 911? How bad would you feel about your whiny statement? Please folks, think before you post. "

 Concerned Mom wrote on November 10, 2007 7:29 am:
" I sent my 16-year-old daughter off to Lincoln to the State VB games, with instructions to call me when she arrived. Hadn't heard from her 3 hours later (1.5 hour drive). Slow panic. Tried her phone. No answer. Tried her friend's phone that was traveling with her. No answer. No chance to leave a voice mail. Sent a text. No response. She finally called me about 7:00 after trying and knowing I'd be getting worried. She did get my text but couldn't respond. We do rely on these things, for peace of mind for mothers if nothing else. I'd have been on the road to Lincoln if she hadn't called me. I'm not freaking out over a happy ending. "

 Terry wrote on November 10, 2007 7:29 am:
" Wow! Maybe people will finally realize what a joke the cell phone network is. If folks knew how little it costs to run, and how little is spent on maintaining it, they'd realize why no one wants to run a "land line" company anymore. And knowing that law enforcement is depending on this unreliable, extremely fragile system is really scary! "

 Happy! wrote on November 10, 2007 8:05 am:
" I understand if you had an emergency and no other way to get help, but how many of you were in that situation last night. In the almost 10 years I have been with Alltel, this is the only "outage" I can remember, and I survived it just fine. Get over yourselves. You don't deserve any kind of break on your bills. You are complaining about a loss of a convenience that you are used to. Big deal. If you are not happy with the service you get, change carriers. Alltel is the only carrier that provides service the our rural Nebraska towns. Like has been said before, the other carriers all have problems from time to time. "

 chill out wrote on November 10, 2007 8:19 am:
" Cell phones lines go down...and EVERYBODY jams the lines with calls they don't really need to make. Go Figure... "

 Sprint & NO Issues ??? wrote on November 10, 2007 8:46 am:
" I'd love to have CellOne back, but Alltel has been great service. For those who say Sprint is good have apparently never left the city limits. There is absolutely NO service once you leave the city limits or get off any major HWY/Interstate system. SO, if you need to visit a small town Sprint is NOT the way to go. Stay with Alltel, the problem has been resolved, and the payphones of the past had the dust blown off of them last night and they made their 50cents for those of us who had to use one! "

 Matt Poulsen wrote on November 10, 2007 9:38 am:
" So, I'm assuming Alltel will refund all customers for 1 day of service...right? Ya..that was a good one wasn't it! "

 T wrote on November 10, 2007 9:44 am:
" In this day an age many many people use only their cellphones and due have landline house phones, this is especially true for those under the age of 35. Yes, it is a serious problem, but in a metro area consisting of Omaha or Lincoln it could have easily resulted in someone not being able to dial 911. Further, many police officers had problems coordinating. It is actually a serious issue and alltel should be providing some sort of refund for those affected. "

 R Northup wrote on November 10, 2007 10:14 am:
" Yes I was affected by the cell phone outage, but it just reminded me that landline telephones are still a necessary item. "

 not there wrote on November 10, 2007 11:37 am:
" but have not had a problem with alltel. The only time I have problems is when i'm in a hollar or behind a mountain. Have a plan with 2 phones, unlimited service, evening starts at 7, and 10 favorites free. 59 dollars a month. I think if you are closer to the headquarters you have better service. "

 WHINY BABIES wrote on November 10, 2007 11:48 am:
" GEESH, 2 hours with out your cell phone - how did you survive. Can you think of something else to do then sit around and complain about "

 Sprint Here wrote on November 10, 2007 12:01 pm:
" I'm using Sprint too, and have been since about 2001. Not a problem. "

 Husker Fan wrote on November 10, 2007 12:22 pm:
" Callahan wears an Alltel headset on the Husker sideline - any chance things will get mixed up and they'll actually get plays called in that work?!? "

 Emergency Services wrote on November 10, 2007 2:22 pm:
" Many EMS rely on Alltel to deliver crucial information. It is serious when someones loved one is being cared for and that information line is crushed. Whatever happened to redundant system design? For those that state they have not had any problems with Alltel service, feel fortunate. Those that have had...it is easier to talk to a brick wall and the results are about the same. "

 Mixed ? wrote on November 10, 2007 3:26 pm:
" Cool, I too lost coverage on my cell phone, but it got to be fun to talk to people I never knew existed. Every call a suprise!!! Try relaxing and go with the flow. It is better for your heart. I do think the issue with the Sheriffs Office is a serious one. We should have something else to fall back on for emergency situations. Someones life or rescue should not depend on cell phones. In a disaster cell phone towers may be the first to go. "

 Amber wrote on November 10, 2007 4:24 pm:
" Sprint Rules! "

 ellfie wrote on November 10, 2007 8:19 pm:
" oh for cryin tears in the sink get over it folks. So you didnt have cell access for 2 hours....so what. been with alltel for 7 years and this is 1st "disaster". by the way try using sprint at&t etc anywhere west and north of kearny or north platte. it don't work. have no idea what joe, mp, figures,arch kearney, and yoshiki are talking about. y'all have too much time on your hands and are truly full of yourselfs. Outages happen. Get over it "

 Not Whiners wrote on November 10, 2007 8:34 pm:
" To everyone who is calling people whiners...you need to think about the situation a bit more. Yes, 5 years ago I would have absolutely agreed that people were being whiny about not having cellphones. But in this day an age a lot of people rely exclusively on their cellphones for communication. Its almost certain that some were unable to call 911 because of the outage. And in this article the police were complaining of problems. This isn't a case of a bunch of highschoolers complaining about not having a cellphone while driving around town. To lose phone service that extensively IS a serious problem. Furthermore, all the customers paid for service on that day and if they didn't have service then they should be reimbursed. "

 Me wrote on November 10, 2007 9:29 pm:
" So, when you folks have a winter storm or tornado or something that knocks power ouut for several days, do you go crying to the power company to reimburse you because your power was out. When you sit in bumpper to bumper traffic, do your complain daily to your state government to refund you your lost time sitting in traffic. It is impossible to have complete redundancy for a cell phone switch. You can't have 2 extra DSC switches sitting there as a backup waiting for something to go out. Each switch has redundant cards in it to compensate for outages. This was beyond normal ouutages. If the same thing happened to Sprint, ATT or VZW, you would of had the same results. Your priority is to get your refund asap, some probably expecting to get it in the mail Tues (Mon is Veterans Day). If you cell phone is that crucial, build in your own redundancy and buy a prepaid phone from another carrier to have as a backup. "

 Bo wrote on November 10, 2007 9:50 pm:
" Some people ONLY have cell phone for any phone services so Alltel need to think about this and what they need to do in the future for cell phone servies. Yes, in case their is an emergency you can retrieve your neighbor but what is their is no neighbor available (such as in rural areas). Be proactive Alltel, no reactive. "

 Kathy wrote on November 10, 2007 11:10 pm:
" To Mike, whoever you are, I am deeply sorry how rude I was during this problem! I thought you had stolen my son's phone while he was at church. Thank you for politely putting up with my interrogation! I heard other stories from parent's who called their young daughters and "strange" men answered. What a night! "

 Misty wrote on November 10, 2007 11:50 pm:
" It's not whiny to be complaining about losing your cell service in this manner. Cell phone usage is a way of life now, and the way we live has been forever changed because of this. People don't have set plans a lot of times because you are operating under the assumption that it is a quick phone call away to be in touch with your children, spouse or friends. "Hey, mom, I need to be picked up now." "You need to meet us at this other restaurant because the other one is too crowded." "I can't get there to pick up the kids, can you?" It IS a problem to not be able to communicate when you are relying on that connection. "

 Apples and Oranges wrote on November 11, 2007 1:57 am:
" Yes, you can easily lose power during a snowstorm or tornado. The difference is that when I lose electric power I won't be paying for any service...its billed per amount of used power...same goes for gas and water. That's not the case with a cellphone...I'm paying for service that I'm not receiving. Furthermore, if the outage was by "an act of god" or some other unforeseeable reason then that is one thing. Alltel has not disclosed the reason why the "switch" failed. Ultimately, it will depend on the cause of the failure...if its an equipment malfunction that is their responsibility. If its something more unforeseeable then they may be free from negligence. Until the cause is disclosed the burden lies upon the company. "

 Me wrote on November 11, 2007 7:26 pm:
" Well, on a 100 dollar rate plan, you are paying 14 cents an hour. Where do you want me to send the 2 quarters to? (A little extra for your trouble). I know if my home phone goes out, they will only give you a couple of bucks IF, it is not fixed within 24 HOURS. After that, they give you nothing. Mine was out 8 days due to a cable cut while the state was working on the road in front of my house. My local telco didn't give a crap that it was out and took their time to even temporarily fix. Like I said, get a prepaid phone from some one else for a backup phone. I have a generator that runs my house when the power company fails to. No system anywhere has that type of redundancy. Remember the NE blackout a few years ago. No one was sued over that and it was chalked up as a simple mistake from someone. "

 DP wrote on November 11, 2007 9:11 pm:
" It's was only a few hours people. Ease up a little. About 15-20 years ago nobody had cell phones and now we act like the world is coming to an end because we couldn't use them for an evening. "

 KHAKEE wrote on November 12, 2007 4:08 pm:
" I have some minor coverage issues with Alltel, but other than that, I've always been very happy with their service AND reliability. Sure, I was worried when I couldn't make calls. However, I reminded myself this was the first time AND I don't have a landline not only becuase of cost, but because of problems with THEIR reliability. Every company has problems. I'm just thankful that Alltel fixed it as quickly as they did. Landline companies don't have the capability or desire to do so. "

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