Feb. 26 (UPI) -- AT&T will reimburse customers affected by last week's network outage, the American communications company said in a statement while apologizing to the tens of thousands impacted by the downed service.
The outage began at about 5 a.m. Thursday and lasted around 12 hours, with more than 71,000 customers reporting cellphone issues at its peak, according to the website Down Detector.
On Sunday, AT&T said on its website that "potentially impacted customers" will automatically be credited $5, "the average cost of a full day of service."
"No matter the timing, one thing is clear -- we let down many of our customers, including many of you and your families," John Stanky, chief executive at AT&T said in a statement. "For that, we apologize."
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Customers will see the credit in one to two billing cycles, it said.
Impacted prepaid customers will have options for compensation, Stanky said, adding that AT&T was working closely with Mid-Market and Enterprise customers to address their concerns.
"Outages sometimes have outsized impacts on some subscribers that may be greater than the face value of the credit," Stanky said. "For that reason, I believe that crediting those customers for essentially a full day of service is the right thing to do."
The company has said the outage was the result of a technical issue that occurred during the expansion of the network, and was not caused by a cyberattack.
"Our initial review of the cause of Thursday's outage indicates it was due to the application and execution of an incorrect process used while working to expand our network," Stanky said.
