How the Rogers outage is affecting services in Ottawa

A massive Rogers outage caused widespread network issues across Canada Friday. Many people were unable to use the Internet, make phone calls or access cable television.

The company said Saturday morning it had restored service to the "vast majority" of its customers. 

"As our services come back online and traffic volumes return to normal, some customers may experience a delay in regaining full service," the company said in a Tweet at around 7 a.m. EDT.

Here's how the outage has affected services in Ottawa.

City services

City services affected by the outage were back online Saturday.

The city of Ottawa said in a tweet just after 12 p.m. that all City services impacted by the Rogers outage have now been restored.

The city had warned there may be delays and disruptions when accessing city phone or counter services. 

“The City is currently experiencing issues with its online and in-person summer camp and program registrations, including drop-ins,” Dan Chenier, general manager of recreational services, said in a statement. “Recreation centres remain open, and cash and cheques are accepted as methods of payment.

“Clients with existing memberships are not impacted and can continue to access their services.”

The outage iwas also affecting transactions at city theatre box offices.

Police

Ottawa police advised users with problems connecting to 9-1-1 to try again if their call fails, or call from a landline or cell phone with another provider.

They also urged people not to call 9-1-1 to ask when Rogers services will be restored.

"This is not a 911 call and it is tying up our resources," they said.

Hospitals

The Ottawa Hospital says it's operating normally despite the widespread outage, but some patient services have been affected.

"Our team is working to contact affected patients as quickly as possible," the hospital tweeted. "We will continue to provide information as the situation evolves."\

Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region

The Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region's services are being affected by the outage.

The service said text and chat lines were operational, but there was no phone access Friday. 

The phone line remained offline as of Saturday afternoon.

OC Transpo

The outage affected Para Transpo phone lines, OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar said in a memo Friday evening.

"All service will be delivered for customers who have regular Para Transpo bookings and who have confirmed bookings online through My Para Transpo for Saturday, July 9," she said.

For additional vital trips, customers are asked to call 613-244-4636 until midnight to book a trip for Saturday. Capacity to answer calls and deliver trips will be limited, she said.

"We ask that customers call only with essential trip needs."

For those customers who were unable to reach Para Transpo earlier Friday, they can also call Saturday starting at 7 a.m. for essential trips for the same day or for Sunday, July 10.

OC Transpo said Saturday morning that all Para Transpo phone lines were operational.

Ottawa Bluesfest

Bluesfest is recommending that anyone with digital or mobile tickets for Friday night should add their tickets to their Apple Wallet or Google Pay, or screenshot their mobile barcode on their phone while connected to WiFi before arriving at the festival.

Interac

Interac said in a statement the outage had affected its online services. Many Ottawa businesses who rely on debit transaction were unable to process them, including grocery stores and retail outlets.

Banks and ATMs in Ottawa saw long lines on Friday as people sought to withdraw cash.

The Grand Pizzeria and Bar in the ByWard Market operated as a cash-only establishment all day.

"Everybody from restaurants to small businesses to grocery stores are losing thousands of dollars today, for sure," owner David Mangano said.

Customers line up outside a Scotiabank near Rideau Street in Ottawa on Friday, July 8, 2022. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa)

Other services

In a tweet Friday morning, Bell said their customers may be experiencing issues while trying to call or text Rogers customers.

"The Bell network is operational and calls and texts between Bell customers or to other providers are not impacted," the company said.

CTV News is a division of Bell Media.