Charleston Family Cuts Ties with AT&T Following Persistent Internet Outage
In Charleston, South Carolina, persistent and unresolved internet outages have hit AT&T customers hard, pushing them to their breaking point. In a move indicative of the frustration experienced by many in the region, one local family has canceled their AT&T subscription due to the ongoing lack of internet service.
The Outage and Outcome
Colleen Derbin Caponigro, a resident of Charleston, shared her experience with the outages, explaining that her internet connection initially failed on Monday. Soon after, a message informed her that the service would be restored by nine that evening. However, that deadline came and went with no resolution.
The promised restoration time was then pushed back to two o’clock on Tuesday afternoon – a time which also came and went without any improvement. The timeline continued to extend, leaving customers in the lurch. AT&T gave no certainty about when the connection issues would be resolved.
The Wider Consequences of the Outage
Caponigro shed light on how the internet outage affected more than just routine internet usage. She explained that her 94-year-old mother, who lives with her and relies on Life Alert, was put at risk due to the outage. Life Alert, a medical emergency response service, requires a stable internet connection to work – without it, she was unable to ensure her mother’s safety.
She shared with HERE News, “I have a 94-year-old mom that lives with us, she’s my mother, and she I depend on life alert for her. If I can’t be here with her, the Life Alert does not work without an internet.”
End of the Road with AT&T
Unable to wait any longer for AT&T to restore their internet services and unable to trust them with the security of her mother, Caponigro and her family took the drastic measure of canceling their AT&T subscription on Saturday.
HERE News reached out to Charleston’s Communications Workers Association local 3704. The President of the local association reported that the employees with the skills necessary to resolve the outage have gone on strike, thereby exacerbating the issue.
Final comments
The ongoing strike, the unresolved internet connection issues, and the propensity for promises to be broken have all contributed to an atmosphere of frustration and a crisis in customer trust in AT&T. With families like Caponigro’s left without the security of stable internet access, the disruption has real-life consequences that can’t be overlooked. For the time being, former AT&T customers like the Caponigros will have to seek alternative providers to meet their internet requirements.
