Easy: someone fat-fingered SS7 the same way someone fat-fingered BGP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_System_No._7 https://blog.cloudflare.com/how-verizon-and-a-bgp-optimizer-...

No it's not the same at all. A carrier's SS7 configuration does not get propagated out to other carriers.

Quite possible though is a significant disruption of one of the many services like LNP which are implemented via SS7 and shared by all carriers - there is indeed a complex set of inter-dependencies between carriers that are all somewhat generically referred to as part of the SS7 system, several of which are required to successfully set up a call or deliver a text message.

All the major carriers maintain their own local LNP database. The only updates that would be distributed via a third party(NPAC) would be recently ported land lines.

This comment tickled something in my memory:

All Circuits are Busy Now: The 1990 AT&T Long Distance Network Collapse

http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~jdalbey/SWE/Papers/att_collaps...

What about number transfers? Some MNP implementation rely on the original Home Subscriber Server the number was issued in or something, so there could be paths between core networks among major carriers.

e: already addressed, sorry

The article seems ti suggests calls and texts to T-Mobile are failing so customers from other providers are likely reporting issues unaware of the source.

*On mobile. Please excuse the typos.

I have att, my wife has Verizon. Can’t call each other.

It's not TMobile. Messenger had issues too, even when accessed through the website.

Messenger? Bloomberg? MSN? BlackBerry? ICQ?

These days it usually means Facebook Messenger. FYI, not snarky. :)

Yes Facebook messenger did have issues as far as I could tell. I definitely refer to it as FB Messenger, not Messenger. It doesn't deserve the latter.

Am not hip with that then. Deleted Facebook years ago.

Because they all run off a backbone operated by Level 3 Communications...

No, T-Mobile forces everything through Inteliquent (aka Onvoy/Vitelity) as of a few years ago.

They all likely share the same STIR/SHAKEN vendor, and Comcast is affected too (Comcast has working STIR/SHAKEN that interacts properly with T-Mobile and Verizon). Wonder if their shared STIR/SHAKEN vendor broke these calls?

Interesting had to search what stir/shaken was. Not obvious to the layperson.

How about too many IMSI catchers being deployed at the same time ? Like basically ~ all of them at the same time right ? Couldn't that cause some unforeseen disturbances ?

NSA updating their taps?

Taps are passive they wouldn't effect traffic.

Unless they are people-in-the-middle.

There was a major cross-carrier outage in 2015 too https://money.cnn.com/2015/08/05/technology/cell-phone-outag...

Other services are reporting failure to connect when trying to reach T-Mobile. I was just trying to call a coworker w/ T-Mobile, and the error message I received was "Verizon cannot complete this call." (I'm on VZ)

Could be something with 4g. My 3g flip phone is working fine (AT&T subscription plan - not prepaid). I can even receive calls from people on T-mobile who aren't able to call each other or other people (although they don't receive my incoming calls).

Another bonus for avoiding the spy phone.

I thought it was ddos? If not, I say it's china retalieting for huawei

Reports of a DDoS in progress: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23533350

There is no proof of a denial of service attack. Attack maps like the one you’ve linked to sinkhole traffic from botnets to known honeypots. The only way a DDoS can be identified is if you’re sitting on the transit links themselves or you have insight into the very private networks that the carriers have. Attack maps do not have this.

So attack maps are pretty much just useless PR gags? Thats what I assumed but wasn't sure if I was correct.

They are 100% useless PR gags

"Wow look the US is getting attacked by everyone" - "lets make everyone pay for a black budget 5 trillion dollars cyber defence project".

Same old military industrial complex scheme with theater pretexts.

Useless? Not always...if they're well done PR they collect eyeballs. But yeah, all PR gags.

I have already seen infowarriors blaming Antifa.

Could be anything I guess.

So many comments and noooobody knows how to search. I spotted it a few hours back, zayo fiber cut: https://tranzact.zayo.com/#!/networkStatus

Edit: Lol at all this nonsense 'Anonymous DDOS', BGP fat-fingering, NSA speculation. I got karma to burn from those butthurt at me being right about the fiber cut. Look at the timestamp and region! Look at this: https://bgp.he.net/AS393494#_graph4 Who you think AS6461 is?

EDIT2: Someone else might have been partially right about merger upgrades being a factor, perhaps removed some redundancy. Before I found the Zayo cut I saw that Crown Castle was looking weird overnight (they are #1 or #2 largest cell tower company with their own acquired fiber network, Lightower): https://map.internetintel.oracle.com/?root=traffic&country=U...