CenturyLink is scrambling to address internet and phone outages nationwide

utility worker

CenturyLink customers across the nation are experiencing phone-signal and internet outages.
The website downdetector.com, which detects technology outages in real time, reported that customers have been impacted in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Denver; Seattle; Boise, Idaho; Dallas; Los Angeles; Chicago; Phoenix; and parts of Montana.
Some local news stations are reporting that 911 services have been impacted in parts of Arizona, Minnesota, and Missouri.
CenturyLink provides internet, phone, television, and home-security services to customers across 37 states.

CenturyLink said it was close to fixing an internet and phone service outage that affected customers nationwide on Thursday.

"CenturyLink engineers and technicians have identified a network element that was impacting customer services and are addressing the issue in order to fully restore services," CenturyLink spokesman Mark Molzen said in an email statement to Business Insider on Friday morning. "We estimate that services will be fully restored within four hours. We apologize for any inconvenience this caused our customers."

The website downdetector.com, which detects technology outages in real time, reported that customers have been impacted in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Denver; Seattle; Boise, Idaho; Dallas; Los Angeles; Chicago; Phoenix; and parts of Montana.

The national #CenturyLink outages are impacting internet and phone services for the State of Montana. We are aware of the issues and working with CenturyLink to get them resolved. Thank you for your patience.
— MT DOA (@MTDeptofAdmin) December 27, 2018

"Our network is experiencing a disruption affecting customer services," the company tweeted earlier on Thursday afternoon. "We understand some customers are currently unable to generate tickets through the CTL help portal. We know how important services are to our customers and are working to restore services as quickly as possible."

The local ABC News affiliate KNXV-TV in Arizona reported that the outage impacted the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, which had to reroute 911 and administrative calls to the Douglas Police Department. KOMO-TV in Seattle reported that parts of Missouri and Minnesota also experienced 911 service disruptions, and, in Idaho, some government agencies were impacted.

The issue began early Thursday morning for some customers. On downdetector.com, some customers commented that their internet service was intermittent, while others complained about the lack of communication about the outage and how long it would last. Customers also vented their frustration on Twitter with the hashtag "#CenturyLinkDown."

CenturyLink provides internet, phone, television, and home-security services to customers across 37 states. When contacted by Business Insider, a CenturyLink representative said they are working to restore service.

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