UPDATE: Verizon Wireless Service Restored After Disruption

By Wendy Osher

(Update: 2:40 p.m. 8/25/11)

Verizon Wireless, Maui. Photo by Wendy Osher.

The Verizon Wireless outage reported on Maui earlier today, was also felt by customers on Oahu, Kauai, and parts of the Big Island, according to Heidi Flato, the company’s media spokesperson for the region that includes Hawaii.

Flato said the network outage to voice and data services occurred when the company encountered unexpected issues with a software upgrade.  “As soon as it was discovered, it was addressed by technicians,” said Flato.

She called the occurrence a rare incident saying, “The company is known for our reliability, and an incident like this one does not happen frequently.”

Flato apologized to customers for the inconvenience and expressed gratitude for their patience as technicians worked to resolve the issue.

The network in Hawaii was 99 percent back to normal performance by 2:40 p.m., with full capacity anticipated shortly, according to Flato.

Customers on the Valley Isle tell Maui Now that they experienced problems from as early as 6 a.m., with some wireless internet users reporting connectivity issues from Wednesday evening.  Most

Maui customers had service restored by around noon today.

(Update: 12:18 p.m. 8/25/11)

Service has been restored for Verizon Wireless customers on Maui following an interruption earlier today.

According to officials at the company’s Maui Marketplace Store, service was restored as  of 12:15 this afternoon.

We are still awaiting information from the company’s regional office on the cause of the outage, and will provide an update once it is available.

(Posted: 11:49 a.m. 8/25/11)

Customers with service from Verizon Wireless on Maui continue to experience connectivity issues at this time as the result of a downed network, according to employees.

Reports of dropped calls were made from as early as 9 a.m. on Maui, but it is unclear when the problem started, or its cause.

Some customers report not being able to make or receive calls, or having calls dropped.

The issue appears to extend beyond Maui, according to store employees.

Maui offices are communicating with tech support to resolve the issue.  There is no estimated time on when the services will be restored.

*** We will post more information as it becomes available.