A major network outage at one of Canada's biggest telecom operators has shut banking, transport and government access for millions, drawing outrage from customers and adding to criticism over Rogers Telecommunications' industry dominance.
Nearly every facet of life has been disrupted, police across Canada said, with some people unable to reach emergency services via 911 calls.
Canada's border services agency said the outage affected its mobile app for incoming travellers, while retailers' cashless pay systems went down and banks reported issues with ATM services.
Later on Friday, Kye Prigg, a senior vice president at Rogers, told the CBC the company does not "have an ETA of when the problem will be fixed" and was still working to identify a cause.
"I wouldn't like to say whether it's going to be fully online today or not," he said.
An representative for Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Friday evening the outage was not the result of a cyber-attack.
So far, Transport Canada has not received reports of direct safety or security impacts to any flights, marine or rail services as part of the outage, according to spokeswoman Sau Sau Liu.
The interruption was Rogers' second in 15 months. It began around 4.30am Eastern Time (6.30pm AEST) and knocked out a quarter of Canada's observable internet connectivity, said the NetBlocks monitoring group.
"Today we have let you down. We are working to make this right as quickly as we can," Rogers said in a statement.
With about 10 million wireless subscribers and 2.25 million retail internet subscribers, Rogers is the top provider in Ontario. Rogers, BCE and Telus control 90 per cent of the market share in Canada.
Canadian financial institutions and banks, including Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank Of Montreal said the outage disrupted services. Royal Bank of Canada said its ATM and online banking services were affected.
An official at Vancouver International airport, among Canada's busiest, said travellers could not pay for parking, use terminal ATM machines or purchase items at airport retailers.
Air Canada, the country's largest airline, said its call centre had been affected.
The Twitter account for Major League Baseball team Toronto Blue Jays announced that singer The Weeknd's hometown tour stop at the Rogers Centre stadium had been postponed due to service outages affecting venue operations.
Critics said the outage demonstrated a need for more competition in telecom.
Earlier this year, Canada's competition bureau blocked Rogers' attempt to take over rival Shaw Communications in a $C20 billion ($A22.5 billion) deal, saying it would hamper competition in a country where telecom rates are some of the world's highest. The merger still awaits a final verdict.
"Today's outage illustrates the need for more independent competition that will drive more network investment so outages are far less likely," said Anthony Lacavera, managing director of Globealive, an investment firm that had bid for a wireless provider involved in the Rogers/Shaw deal.
On Friday, some government agencies cancelled services after losing internet access, including Canada's passport offices and the telecoms regulator.
The Canada Revenue Agency, the country's tax collection body, lost telephone service.
Canada's Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said his team has been in contact with the company.
"We expressed how important it is that this matter be resolved as soon as possible and for the company to provide prompt and clear communication directly to those impacted," he tweeted.
While the disruptions were widespread, several companies and transport points said their services were unaffected.
The Port of Montreal reported no disruptions. The Calgary Airport Authority said it had "no major operational impacts".
Australian Associated Press
