GREEN BAY (NBC26) — Cellcom customers across Green Bay are experiencing a network disruption that has affected calls and text messages for two days, with businesses also feeling the impact of the service outage.
The telecommunications company, owned by N-Sight, has been working to resolve the issues since the outage began around 9 p.m. Wednesday.
"I didn't even realize it was going to impact us initially," Shawn Zambarda, owner of The Depot, said.
Zambarda's business uses cellular service from Nsight, the parent company of Cellcom.
"I didn't really think about it until we got a message on messenger and they said 'Hey, we're trying to call and wanna make a reservation and we can't get through,'" Zambarda said.
In its most recent statement released at 6:35 p.m. Friday, Cellcom announced that a portion of voice services have been restored.
We know we missed our midday update — and we’re sorry for the delay. We said we’d share more today, and we’re here to do just that.
A portion of our voice services has been successfully restored, marking an important milestone in our recovery efforts. While this update may not yet impact all customers, it is a meaningful step forward — and a sign of the real momentum happening behind the scenes. Activations are continuing in real time as restoration work progresses.
We know this isn’t enough. Full restoration remains our top priority, and while we still can’t provide a firm timeline, progress is steady and significant. Our teams continue working 24/7 to bring everyone back online.
This isn’t just about returning to service — it’s about making things right. We are committed to earning back your trust and will share more soon on how we plan to support and stand by our customers through this.
This update came just hours after an earlier statement in which Cellcom said it is "not yet ready to provide an exact restoration timeline," adding that staff is working to get "services back online as quickly and responsibly as possible."
Below is the full statement released at 4:05 p.m.:
As of this afternoon, our voice and SMS services remain offline due to a network disruption that began around 9:00 p.m. CT on May 14.
This outage has impacted our voice customers across our service area. We know how disruptive this has been for individuals, families, businesses — and we’re treating it with the urgency it deserves.
Our teams technical teams have been working around the clock to restore service, and we’ve made significant progress behind the scenes.
While we are not yet ready to provide an exact restoration timeline, our focus remains on getting services back online as quickly and responsibly as possible.
At this time, we are only able to speak to the impacts within our own network and cannot confirm issues affecting other providers.
We remain committed to transparent communication, to our customers, and to doing more than just getting service back — but making it right. We are incredibly grateful for the patience and support we’ve received from our community.
We are updating customers via Facebook and via our website at Cellcom.com/service.
"I don't know how long it's going to be out. I'm a little surprised it's gone on for a couple days but I'm sure they'll figure it out," Zambarda said.
It remains unclear what caused the widespread outage.
Cellcom said it will continue to keep customers updated through the company's Facebook page and on its website.
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