Triangle hit with cell phone outage

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A massive cell phone outage hit much of the Triangle for hours Monday.

While some customers reported service coming back after 8 p.m., Verizon said the issue wasn't completely resolved until 9:30 p.m. - some six and a half hours after it began.

"In conjunction with our engineers, our vendors were able to identify and resolve the issue," the company said in a news release. "We appreciate customers' patience during this time."

Verizon called the problem a "connectivity issue", but was not more specific.

The News and Observer reported it was a construction accident that cut a telecommunications fiber cable at Tryon Road and Junction Boulevard.

While voice calls were affected, customers were still able to send text messages and use data.

Many 911 centers around the Triangle urged people to text 911 if they needed help and didn't have access to a land line.