AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Be on the lookout if you are in downtown Augusta. It’s time to play Where’s Waldo.

Waldo is hiding in 21 local downtown Augusta businesses throughout July. Waldo and his friends have each lost a precious item inside the Book Tavern.

“If you get 10 locations, then you’ll get a happy button. Our friend Porkchop, Leonard Zimmerman, designed it especially for this year’s Waldo adventure and we’re really, really excited about that,” said David Hutchinson, co-owner of Book Tavern.

You can grab your passport from the Book Tavern to start your scavenger hunt journey to win prizes.

Organizers say if you collect 18 or more stamps, you will be entered into a drawing for a six-volume deluxe set of Waldo books and other prizes.

For more information, click HERE.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

Verizon customers in Augusta, Georgia, and other cities are reportedly experiencing network issues after their devices continue to flash an SOS message.

According to Downdetector, more than 1,200 users reported Verizon service outages before 3 p.m. ET. Throughout the downtime, Verizon Support has been actively assisting customers on X. According to reports, the outage began at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Verizon responded shortly about the issues.

The company posted the notice about the problem on its website Tuesday afternoon. It stated that data, voice, and text are limited in Augusta, GA, due to a known issue in the area. The company reassured customers, however, that they are working on a solution.

The business added that most of these problems can be fixed in 12 hours, while the majority of 5G problems can be fixed in 48 hours.

Read Also: New Study Reveals T-Mobile Is Top US Carrier for Network Performance, Customer Satisfaction 

International Outage

Before the Verizon outage, issues had plagued the three major US service providers for only a few days. On June 28, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T customers were all reportedly experiencing issues with their various phone plans. The primary telecom carriers were having problems due to an international roaming outage. 

Due to the disruption, some users who are currently traveling overseas may not be able to use cellular internet, send texts, or make phone calls.  

Sources claim that Syniverse, the third-party organization in charge of overseeing international roaming services for all three carriers, is experiencing connectivity issues, which are causing the outage.

Though the exact cause is still unknown, some speculate that it could be related to changes in how carriers manage their old 2G and 3G networks as they transition to 4G and 5G.  

Consumers bemoan the issue in mobile community forums, Reddit, and social media. The outage also impacts different users in different ways; some report never having broadband, SMS, or cellphone connection, while others can only connect occasionally. The problem was first discovered late on Wednesday.

At the time, it was claimed that massive international outages were affecting all three of the main US carriers, generating connectivity problems for Americans worldwide. Every carrier’s clientele faced difficulties.

Therefore, no particular location or service is affected by the recent blackout. Reports of problems have come from Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. 

Outages in AT&T

The worldwide outage also comes just a few weeks after AT&T is said to have fixed a recent outage that occurred in early June and prevented users’ calls from connecting to other networks. This demonstrated that there was a network problem rather than a user-related one. 

An AT&T representative stated that the other carrier and the mobile network worked together to find a solution. Additionally, the spokesman announced that the problem with carrier compatibility has been fixed. The business also expresses gratitude to its customers for their understanding during this time. 

Related Article: HSBC, Barclays, Virgin Money Hit by Massive Payment Glitch, Thousands in the UK Miss Payday Deposits 

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Memes sprang up all over social media making fun of Verizon’s ad line “can you hear me now,” as thousands of customers across the CSRA lost mobile, text and data capability.

However, those who rely on their mobile phones to conduct vital business were not laughing.

Verizon customers from Aiken to Grovetown reported they had lost service.

According to Down Detector, problems began in the early morning hours and spiked around 3 p.m. as the system seemed to collapse with users getting an ‘SOS” message.

The city of Augusta sent out a notice on social media that claimed even the “SOS” functions on the phone were disabled and could not link to either the “311” or “911” systems. The message urged citizens to report emergencies on a landline or seek out a neighbor using a different carrier.

Some calls could make it through to 911, but data, such as the caller’s address and phone number did not appear on the dispatcher’s screen, meaning they could not call back if the signal dropped suddenly.

The message also urged the following:  “Officials ask customers not to call 911 to test service.”

Users can connect to a Wi-Fi service to make calls and texts.

Service appears to have been restored as of 9 p.m. The company has not released an official statement on what caused the outage.

Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com