New York Attorney General Letitia James has launched an investigation into the recent AT&T wireless network outage that left thousands of customers without cellphone service for up to 12 hours. The outage, which occurred on February 22, also affected some Consumer Cellular, T-Mobile, UScellular, and Verizon subscribers, causing widespread frustration and briefly disrupting 911 service in some communities.

In a statement announcing the probe, Attorney General James emphasized the importance of protecting consumers during such outages, stating that they can not only be inconvenient but also dangerous. She encouraged affected New Yorkers to file complaints with her office regarding the disruption.

AT&T, which apologized for the network disruption, announced that it would be offering a $5 credit to affected customers. However, AT&T Business, AT&T Prepaid, and Cricket customers are ineligible for reimbursement.

The Federal Communications Commission is also investigating the outage, with AT&T yet to disclose the number of customers impacted by the service disruption. The carrier attributed the outage to a process error rather than a cyberattack and stated that service was restored by the afternoon of February 22.

Despite the restoration of service, the outage highlighted the reliance of Americans on cell service providers for daily communication and connectivity. Attorney General James' investigation aims to determine the causes of the outage and evaluate AT&T's response to the disruption, ensuring that consumers are protected in the future.