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'Configuration Error' Disrupts Internet Access Across the US

Monday's outage slowed internet access for Comcast users to many major internet sites

By Michael Kan
November 6, 2017
Comcast outage

A massive internet outage hit the US on Monday, disrupting access for Comcast users.

The outage started at around 10 a.m. Pacific time, and persisted for the next two hours in major cities, including New York and San Francisco, according to Downdetector.com, which monitors online service interruptions.

Comcast error reports

Comcast confirmed the disruptions as complaints from users mounted. Some sites such as Google were accesible, while others, including Facebook and Twitter, were slow to load, according to affected users.

Later, Comcast said it was monitoring "an external network issue." About 30 minutes ago, it tweeted that "our customers should all be back up now" and thanked US internet backbone provider Level 3 Communications "for resolving."

Level 3 blamed Monday's disruption on a "configuration error."

"We know how important these services are to our customers. Our technicians were able to restore service within approximately 90 minutes," Level 3 said in a statement.

Downdetector indicated that other ISPs, including AT&T and Verizon, experienced trouble today, but AT&T and Verizon told PCMag that they did not experience any major service disruptions today.

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About Michael Kan

Senior Reporter

I've been with PCMag since October 2017, covering a wide range of topics, including consumer electronics, cybersecurity, social media, networking, and gaming. Prior to working at PCMag, I was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for over five years, covering the tech scene in Asia.

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