Pamela Rothenberg

When the Verizon nationwide outage struck earlier this year, millions of mobile users across the country were abruptly cut off from their primary, if not only, means of communication. For many, this was an inconvenience. For commercial real estate (CRE) owners, operators, and property managers, it should serve as a sobering warning of the life safety, operational, and legal implications of a widespread communication system breakdown. Notices from emergency agencies made the gravity clear.

Executive Summary: Recent communication outages, including the recent nationwide Verizon failure, expose CRE owners and operators to serious life safety, operational, and legal risks—particularly when tenants are unable to reach 911 during emergencies. To protect residents and reduce liability, CRE providers must invest in communication redundancy, strengthen outage resilient life safety systems, educate tenants, and implement legally sound vendor and preparedness strategies.

This article originally published in the November 2025 issue of ALI CLE’s The Practical Real Estate Lawyer. Pam and Patrice collaborate in their representation of firm clients engaging CRE transactions with the federal government. The federal government’s recent policy changes and accelerated disposition of surplus properties have created significant new opportunities for commercial real estate investors.