Businesses around the Cowichan Valley are taking to social media to warn customers their debit and credit card machines are down.
“Cash Only Due to a nationwide failure of the Rogers Network,” wrote True Grain Cowichan Bay. Many other food stores, small shops, and services were also relegated to cash only.
The same went for BC Ferries.
“”Due to the Rogers outage this morning, debit & credit card services are impacted at a number of #BCFerries terminals & on board vessels. We will continue to provide updates here. Thank you for your patience as we look to restore these services,” the company tweeted.
#TravelAdvisory
— BC Ferries | Reconnecting BC (@BCFerries) July 8, 2022
Due to the Rogers outage this morning, debit & credit card services are impacted at a number of #BCFerries terminals & on board vessels. We will continue to provide updates here. Thank you for your patience as we look to restore these services. ^km pic.twitter.com/CIKUtm8OC3
Local authorities have confirmed the Canada-wide Rogers and Fido cellular service disruptions have affected 911 services within the Cowichan Valley.
Through the Alertable public emergency alert service, the CVRD advised, “There is an ongoing outage to phone, internet and wireless services provided by Rogers and Fido. Other carriers are not affected. “Members of the public without access to a working phone and in need of emergency services should use alternate means of contacting 911 including using a landline or wireless device serviced by a different carrier, going to a neighbour’s house, using phones at nearby businesses or community centres, or heading to the closest fire department for assistance.”
The alert was issued at 9:40 a.m. though the outage has been in place since at least 6 a.m.
In a tweet, Rogers said it is aware of the issue and efforts are underway to resolve the problem.
“On behalf of all of us at Rogers, we sincerely apologize to our customers, and we will continue to keep you updated as we have more information to share, including when we expect service to be back up,” said a second tweet.
We know how important it is for our customers to stay connected. We are aware of issues currently affecting our networks and our teams are fully engaged to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We will continue to keep you updated as we have more information to share.
— Rogers News (@AboutRogers) July 8, 2022