AT&T Outage Impacts Freight

February 23, 2024

After the AT&T network outage, the freight community was reminded just how crucial digital connectivity is for daily operations on Thursday.

Starting in the morning, widespread disruptions were reported across the United States, impacting not just individual mobile users but also key trucking technologies that rely on cellular data.

Also, since many perform scheduling via mobile phones, many shippers and receivers were "nearly unreachable," Justin Randall of Schneider points out.

Image Source: @FreightLocator/X

Impact: Key truck tech platforms like Samsara, Motive, and Trimble reported connectivity issues, potentially disrupting Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) and other vital freight operations.

These platforms are integral for tracking driver locations, sending messages, and dispatching information. But with AT&T's signals gone silent, that crucial information flow got choked up, sparking worries about what this means for trucks on the move, both now and down the line.

Further complicating matters, the outage also affects the accuracy of driver position and location history, potentially disrupting automated tracking services and the ability of customers and freight brokers to accurately determine ETAs.

Verizon and T-Mobile say their networks were operating normally, and any of their reports were most likely due to issues contacting an AT&T network user. Image Source: Morning Brew/X

What's Next? The issue has been resolved, but it does show us just how the more central digital tech becomes to the industry – making things faster and enhancing visibility – it also leaves it open to vulnerabilities like these. It's a wake-up call for the need to have a solid Plan B should a similar disruption occur.

AT&T Outage Impacts Freight

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