NATION : Mystery Problem Delays AT&T; Long-Distance Calls Nationwide
Callers using AT&T; had trouble making long-distance calls nationwide today.
“It seems to be affecting major cities in various parts of the country,” said AT&T; spokesman Burke Stinson, at the company’s Basking Ridge, N.J., offices. “No one has a theory yet what’s causing it,” he said. “We’ve got our people on the case.”
Callers to many areas received a recording saying that all circuits were busy and that calls could not be put through.
American Telephone & Telegraph Co. noticed the problem shortly after 11:30 p.m. PST.
“It’s sort of ubiquitous throughout our network,” said Daisy Ottmann, an AT&T; spokeswoman in Basking Ridge. “It’s a technical problem,” she said. “It’s not a cable cut. It’s not a natural disaster.”
She said the problem might be in computer software that operates the phone switching equipment.
She said the phone company’s equipment automatically blocks calls from entering the phone network when there is such a problem. That, she said, accounts for the recordings callers were receiving.
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