WTF

Epic Fail – Dystopia

Published on by dgkaye

I lost the whole last Friday. And so did much of Canada. I woke up and began looking through emails – to no avail because once again, no internet. So I turned on the TV to watch the news, only to find blackness on the screen. I thought, not again! Since I moved here I’ve never had so many internet issues since I stupidly left Bell Canada and joined the Rogers network and EVERYTHING – phone, TV, internet is connected by their shit wifi. I tried all my usual unplug, plug in tricks with my devices, which sometimes alleviates the problem. Again – to no avail. At that point, I hadn’t yet checked my mobile phone, which of course always works even when wifi is down because it picks up off the Rogers network cell towers when home wifi is down. But this time I had a dead phone!

At the same moment I began getting curious as to what the hell was going on, my friend Marsha knocked on my door. She came to inform me that Rogers network was down in the whole of Canada! In Canada we have only two giant conglomorate networks that monopolize the country – Rogers with a majority of customers and Bell Canada. And despite the various knock-off carriers that run off these two networks, that’s it. We had no communication to the outside world. Right away I suspected cyber tampering. Plus, I had recently heard on our news that we can expect some cyber attacks, adding that Canada isn’t protected properly with infrastructure to ward them all off. What else could possibly wipe out a whole network in one country?

I asked Marsha how she found out. She told me she knew her neighbor was connected to Bell. She knocked on her door and asked her to call security at our gatehouse and see WTH was going on, and found out. From 5am til wee hours of Saturday morning we were communicationless to the outside world.

I needed to make a few calls Friday to set things ready for my company I had coming Sunday to visit my husband’s grave and come back for lunch. So I got dressed and went up to the 10th floor where I used to live, to knock on a few old neighbor’s doors to see if anyone was on the Bell network. No luck! We were all mystified. I then went down to the convenience store in our building to ask the owner if he had any communications working. He told me his store could only take cash, and even though there was an ATM in his store, the banking system was also shut down, no debit cards, and for many businesses, not even credit cards because of no authorization. Imagine a whole banking system relying on one network!

I decided to go up to the lobby, knowing well there would be people there wondering what was going on. There I saw our building’s cleaners, Simon and Evangeline wiping down the windows. I asked if either of them were on Bell network, and thankfully Evangeline was, and she offered me to use her phone.

During that time, Marsha had gone out searching for wifi, as her daughter calls her every morning and she worried her daughter would worry about her. Marsha heard on the radio that our Starbucks cafes were on the Bell network. I had hoped to get to a Starbucks to send some texts, but one thing led to another as I was cleaning up my place for the weekend. I had the radio on, waiting for reports, as did everyone else, and nothing. Every commercial break announcers could tell us nothing, other than Rogers says they are working on the problem. They also informed that stores could only take cash, some closed, and the chaos at the airport just added to the already madness. People with their boarding passes on phones couldn’t board. All comms were down, and Lord knows how the air traffic controllers were managing. I was grateful to not be on a plane. They also warned not to take any road trips because if a car breaks down, there was no calling for help. AND EVEN 911 emergency line was NO SERVICE. I shuddered at the thought of how many needed an ambulance and died because of this event! It was a dominoe effect of chaos.

After 4pm, I went over to Marsha’s and hung pictures for her, since we were both home and nothing to do. Then she came over to my place and we played Dominoes. We kept checking our phones hoping for them to work, but no dice.

By 8pm, Marsha suggested we drive over to Starbucks to use their wifi to check in with people. Starbucks up the street was a sardine can, full of people, and younger ones hogging all the wifi with their laptops. There were plenty of people, like us, standing outside Starbucks hoping to pick up wifi, to no avail. There were just too many trying to do the same. So we drove to another Starbucks, and again, we couldn’t even get connected.

Finally, I saw a girl walking and texting, I asked her if she could connect and told me it was wonky, but our national pharmacy chain, across the way, Shoppers Drug Mart, was on the Bell Network. By this time it was 10pm, it seemed many didn’t know about this available wifi, and it only took me 10 minutes to connect and I began sending out texts. What a nightmare!

Everyone we’d seen and spoken to that day couldn’t help wondering if this was Russian tampering. How one monopoly network goes totally off the grid was puzzling. I can’t help but wonder if Bell Canada will be next. Were we sabotaged? Was this to show us what they can do? When we STILL have no answers from Rogers and the government has called in the CEO this week for talks, I am suspicious we aren’t being told the truth. Just how fragile are our systems with their vulnerabilites to attack? Not sure we’ll ever get the truth, but two things for sure: Canada better step up our protections, and I am moving back to Bell!

©DGKaye2022

80 thoughts on “Epic Fail – Dystopia”

  1. What a worrying situation, Debby! I saw one of your messages, I think, but I wasn’t sure what had happened, and I had heard nothing here. I hope you all get some answers, but it is impossible not to wonder… Thanks, Debby, and I hope nothing like that happens again, there or anywhere else.

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  2. It just proves we should not rely totally on the internet. I used Telus when I lived in Canada and still use their webmail. We have wifi issues here regularly so now I’m used to it. But for a large part of the country to be down is crazy!

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    1. So true Darlene. But it shows how much we rely on these things to communicate. So far I just heard the banks have demanded Rogers implement a secondary back up system. They make millions off us, let them spend the money! Btw, Telus was working. I do believe they are affiliated with Bell. ❤

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  3. What a horrifying story, Debbie. As a retiree of AT&T, I can tell you that Bell Canada has redundant systems that are built to avert this kind of issue. The latecomers wanted to save money so they avoided those safeguards.

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  4. What a mess! I’m so sorry that happened to you and so many others across the country, Deb. 😦 Cyber tampering sounds plausible, but I think Rogers said it had to do with a maintenance update. In any case, I hope they put safeguards in place so it doesn’t happen again!

    I’ve always been with Bell and there have been very few outages over the years. We were offline for a week last year, (not fun! :P) but that was because some idiot truck driver pulled down a Bell connection pole on our street!

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    1. Glad to hear you’re with Bell. I should have never left, and believe me. When I get through my backlog of stuff, I, along with thousands of others will be going right back to Bell. I’m pretty sure after this nightmare, I wouild have to wait for hours on hold to even speak to someone there, and Bell just as busy. And lol, what Rogers said, and what actually happened are probably two very different things. I will be more interested to hear what our government has to say after meeting with Rogers this week. ❤

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  6. What a nightmare, Debby. It makes one realize how dependent we are of cell service and internet. I’m fortunate enough to not need a phone and/or internet every single day and I enjoy being disconnected from it all, once in a while. And, believe me, we have plenty of experience with hunting for WiFi or dealing with unreliable and inexistent internet. It’s part of our nomadic lifestyle.

    Yet, when a big event happens that is dependent on internet, it really sucks to be cut off, like the people getting on a plane (I always save important information offline, because of my experiences) or when you rely on it for work and important meetings.

    I hope you will find out what the issue was (and share it here).

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    1. Thanks Liesbet. And like you, I always have backup paper copies – especially when traveling. Yes, it’s definitely an online world, and even more so since Covid changed many people to working from home. And you can be sure, when I hear something, you will be hearing about it! 🙂 ❤

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  7. It is beyond scary how dependent we’ve become on these few providers. We no longer have the backups we used to. I keep money now on hand just for this problem and have had to use it in past to get gas that we needed. I’m with you when things go down like this we do have to wonder and I don’t think any country is ready for this type of attack. Our area is forcing us off old DLS and landlines, with no options because we have no cell signal. Landlines were at least something to depend on, now we won’t have that anywhere soon, no matter how dangerous it is for the people who live there. They can make more money on new tech. Having dealt with longer outages in past I know how scary it is and getting the help we need is close to impossible. I’m thinking having a two-way radio or old CB is a good idea now. Stay safe xoox

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    1. I so agree Denise. When I was with Bell I had a real landline so that went power went out I still had communication. Rogers has hooked the damned landline to wifi, which I hate! Technology was once a good thing, now it rules our lives and that is plenty scary. Yes, time to go to the bank and take out some cold cash just for these times. My gawd! ❤

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  8. How frightening, Debby – especially the 911 calls, but everything else as well! I hope that company gives some answers soon – it’s disgraceful they haven’t already done so. It shows how dependent we are. Toni x

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  9. What a nightmare! A major drawback of ‘advanced’ technology. My thoughts would have gone to cyber attack as well. And I know exactly how you were feeling, Deb. One night last year I was awakened at 12 a.m. when my TV came on by itself. By itself! Displayed was a Russian news channel ~ a bright orange banner with Russian lettering across the top, and news anchors speaking Russian. I slapped myself across the face to make sure I was, in fact, awake. Given the 10-hour time difference, it wasn’t unreasonable to suspect a cyber attack ~ which I KNOW it was. This was one of the eeriest and most unsettling experiences I’ve ever had. It’s time to hurtle a few good hexes at Russia, China, No. Korea, and any other bad actors. A good hex acts as a mirror that reflects the evildoer’s energy back to them. Wouldn’t that be a sight to see 🙂❤️

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    1. Yes it would T. And your experience is absolutely frightening. Tech has gone beyond boundaries with taking away our personal boundaries and making us have to rely on them. I hate it! ❤

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      1. It’s all part of the power elite’s plan to control the world. That might sound like a conspiracy theory, but I assure you it isn’t. They keep us dependent on them while they collect as much info as they can on us. But the way out is the way in. We have to examine our own thoughts and subconscious desires, and then witness how and where we project them into the world. Simultaneously, we have to be an active participant in society, exerting influence toward that which we wish to manifest. Energy follows thought, and focused intention puts that thought into action.

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  11. So sorry that you’re dealing with all this frustration, Debbie. We bundle our phone, cable, and Internet through SuddenLink (Talk about a misnomer as they’re is nothing sudden about it except for sudden grief.) They come out to fix one thing, and the next day something else is out.

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  12. That’s frightful and frightening, Debby. We are so reliant on the internet now, we can’t function without it. I’ve never heard of such a scenario before and I hope I never do again. It’s too easy for hackers to shutdown our world.

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  15. HOLY Buckets! What a fiasco! Of course, I believe it was hacking. There have been many across the U.S. as well but they never say what causes it. That is freaking scary. I’m just glad you have Marsha there. We live in troubled times. I know China, North Korea, Iran, and several other countries are all out to disrupt North America. I worry about us all. ❤

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  16. Ah, how much we depend on technology today. I had an amusing and informative call a couple weeks ago with Toyota. It began with a small charge on a credit card. Turns out their SOS service in our car is going to upgrade to 5G in October. In the meantime, I’ll have a monthly charge until the next annual one. In the process, I mentioned my phone and she said this change didn’t require my phone to be 5G. Then we got into a conversation about smart phones, etc. Led to a comment about what we did before cell phones–pay phones. Turns out the rep was only 20 years old. She had NEVER SEEN a pay phone. Didn’t realize how long we’d all been using cell/smart phones. But yes, when systems break down we are very SOL!

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    1. That’s a sad story John. And yes, we are all getting slammed with radiation induced 5G whether we like it or not. Don’t get me started! 😦

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  17. Oh my! This would have been such a nerve-wracking experience. I can’t imagine placing myself in this situation and not panicking 😦

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  18. Hi- this does sound like a horrible thing and makes me really appreciate it hasn’t happened here
    And maybe / just maybe- it was down for security upgrades and they were so Immediate they didn’t have time to prep customers

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  19. It was NUTS! I wanted to do online banking and nope that wasn’t in the cards for me (and so many others). I still can’t believe 911 wasn’t working that day. Good that you go to an available WiFi with your friend xx

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  20. A frightening experience and dystopia is right Debby.. I can only imagine the fear it created on so many levels and you are right to go back to Bell they were partners in the UK company I worked for and they do have built in redundancies. Corners have been cut and it does sound like a hacking of some form by someone.. these days it can be a teenager in a basement with a grudge… and if the company has not got its systems protected they are vulnerable. Hopefully lessons learnt…♥♥

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  21. Wow, that is a LONG time to be without both phone and internet Debby. And the scale of the outage too – all of Canada! What? That’s crazy…and scary. It really induced a panic as people were gathering at stores etc. What a story. I’m glad it’s “fixed”, but Bell better be ready for a new surge of customers!!

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  22. Hanging pictures and playing dominoes, not bad distractions when digital service blows up. At least you have a blog post with commiserators. So sorry. . .

    As you can tell, I’m back now after over a month recovering from eye surgery. Here are my good wishes for a good (and lasting) “fix” to your woes, Debby. ((( )))

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  23. What a nightmare! And it gives glimpses of another nightmare showing how much of the human population relies on wi-fi. What the heck did we do in the 1970s when there was no wif-fi?

    I’ll be honest and say I’d be lost without wi-fi, Debby. It’s a nightmare thought. We rely on wi-fi and technology way too much, and it goes to show how much of a herd we humans are. We go along with the flow.

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  24. I’ve been wondering about this type of “warfare” lately. I’ve no doubt that countries have developed the capability to completely shut down other countries and the world. So sci-fi, but very plausible. We’ve become technology dependent on so many levels! That’s scary. I hope it was just a glitch.

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  26. Hi Debby – I heard about it … so am glad to know it’s all fixed and you were able to cope (just) … with thoughts – Hilary

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  27. Hi Debby, wow, what a thing to happen. We had not power for 18 hours on Friday night and Saturday. It came on for 6 hours and then went off again for 6 hours. A nightmare. Fortunately, we have a generator because we often work from home and can’t be off-line, but its crazy for many people who don’t have that luxury.

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  28. Hi Debby,
    This sounds so frightening. Being in the US, I had no idea this happened! It does make you wonder the cause. To have the outage affect so many is dangerous when it comes to emergencies, as you pointed out. I am glad you had some people to talk to in person until all was restored and that you can switch to another provider.
    Many Blessings
    Lisa xoxo

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  29. I heard about this on the UK news – it’s just terrifying to be shown so clearly how the world relies on technology to the point that nothing functions without it. Speculative fiction writers have been playing with this idea for decades, but no one in authority takes any notice. I’ll bet it was sabotage.
    I’m still raging about how our government expect the entire UK to change over to electric cars in 8 years time (by 2030 nothing other than electric vehicles will be sold), when the infrastructure and frankly, the technology are nowhere near secure enough for it to be practical. Of course we need to find alternatives to oil, but when you live like I, and many of my friends do, in the middle of nowhere, and your power gets knocked out by one of these increasingly frequent storms, sometimes leaving homes without power for up to 2 weeks, how are we supposed to power an electric car? It’s not as if we can just walk to the shop – it’s 15 miles away!

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    1. Deb, you are so right! The fact that they make us rely on these services and then don’t perfect or protect them for us is dangerous. And of course when we have power outages with electric cars we’ll be screwed in more ways! You aren’t the only one when it comes to 2030. Most North American car brands have already said the same by 2030, only electric cars. We’re doomed to fail. 😦

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      1. A friend did say that the date has been set to make it look like they are doing something about climate change, but it’s only a target, and unlikely to be met. We shall have to wait to see…

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  30. Hi Debby, lots going on behind the scenes especially in Canada as well as else where… Expect more power and internet outages along with food shortages and even Military to step forward in the future For our leaders are not for their people.. …. All part of ‘their’ bigger plan playing out..

    And I don’t wish to be sounding doom and gloom Debby… Hope you have a good stock in your pantry, for if power outages also start that means shopping tills will not work either. Or electric doors to places.. Let alone what is happening with farmers, grain, deliberate droughts , along with derailed trains!, Gas prices, as in Petrol and Fuel prices as in Power etc etc..

    Crazy times…. But then you can not break through old systems to create new ones unless the old systems are broken down.. ( Breakdown to Break-through ) . And it begins to affect people… Only when it affects us as individuals do we then question, and not stand by in silence.

    We are in the middle of a Spiritual battle, many are unaware of what is occurring and its sci-fi stuff of unbelievable horror as in disappearing children for hundreds of years and underground activities.
    And when they realise the deceit and lies by our leaders and medical professions along our hidden history, then that is when the you know what, is going to hit the fan…
    You have to dig deep and use alternative search engines other than google for they are hiding many things from public knowledge..
    But its up to each of us to discover truth for ourselves… I think I am done now trying to educate people close to me, they all think I am nuts Lol… 🙂 What will be will be….. Dystopia is a great word..

    But having said all of that Debby… It’s always the Darkest before the Dawn Light… But we have to see for ourselves how dark we have become and how we have been so busy with our materialistic lives we have gradually allowed all our freedoms to be eroded as they are gearing up for a totalitarian systems of ” You own nothing but be happy ” statements from certain people such as Klaus S…

    Apologies for the rant Debby… But its eyes wide open now for its ramping up.. ❤ ❤ ❤

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    1. Sue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As you and I have often talked about ‘the coming’. Thank you so much for writing here so hopefully more eyes will open wide. And thank you for revealing some of the secret stuff going on, which doesn’t surprise me at all. Seems like Howard Beale said it all decades ago. For sure the sheep will get lost, but those of us who are aware may fare better. Thanks again for all your wisdom shared here. And yes, my pantry is always stocked! Hugs to you my dear friend. ❤ ❤ xxxx

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  31. Amateur radio would be a great back up and is completely independent from the grid. My family just got our general licenses last year with the FCC in the U.S. We had a Pacific Northwest Verizon blackout a few months ago, and I could fire up the radio and hear people talking about it and how far the black out went. Currently, I am learning how to send data through the radio which might be another option for you. It takes less bandwith and less power. One can send an email in certain circumstances with their radio, but I haven’t figured that out yet.

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