Canadians distressed as Rogers outage leaves customers stranded

Fridays are usually the busiest days for Abigail Hitchens.

The florist from Collingwood, Ont., gets calls for everything from events and birthdays to anniversaries and gatherings.

Sometimes, it's just for a spur of the moment weekend gift.

On days like that, Hitchens will typically sell out on flowers.

Not today, she said in an email to CTVNews.ca. My phone isn't ringing nor are many emails working. Nor can I accept payment via e-transfer. I got rid of the Visa terminal at the beginning of COVID. Last time this outage happened I lost $900 in sales. Today is looking to be at least $1,500.

Hitchens joins many people around Canada who scrambled to get their working lives in order as a massive Rogers network outage on Friday disabled customers' mobile services and internet connections.

Not only are businesses such as Hitchens' affected, so too are banks, passport offices, airports and hospitals.

People also are unable to make debit payments and in some cases may have difficulty calling 911. Some are resorting to standing outside coffee shops in an effort to reconnect online.

On Friday afternoon, Rogers said it was making progress on fixing the outage, although it remains unclear when services will be back up and running.

The company has not disclosed exactly what caused the outage or how many customers are affected.