O2 claim to have restored full 3G service to mobile network

 

Mobile phone company O2 - the latest victim of a technology system crash -  say they have fixed the problems with their service as the focus switches to compensation for affected customers.

Potentially hundred of thousands of customers were left without any service since yesterday afternoon.

O2 offered no further word on compensation after earlier saying that it was “focusing on getting full service resumed for all of our customers”.

The company said this morning that text message and mobile calling capabilities had been restored, and this afternoon claimed to have fixed the problems with their 3G services as well.

Some O2 customers faced a second day of disruption to their services despite engineers working through the night to try and resolve the problem.

Network issues began being reported yesterday afternoon.

It's not yet known how many O2 customers have been affected by the outage - but it is thought to be in the hundreds of thousands.

O2 said this afternoon: “Following previous updates, our tests now show that all our 2G and 3G services have been fully restored for affected customers.

If any customers are still having problems we recommend they turn their phone off and on again.

Once again, we are sorry."

Disgruntled and angry mobile phone users took to social networks this morning to express their anger over the outage.

Sean Foster (SeanFoster) tweeted: “Arrrrrrrghhhhh! My phone was fine all day yesterday and now after their failed overnight work o2 have screwed it!!”

Another Twitter user Leanna May (LeannaMai) said: “I can't bare this any longer!! THREE o2 contracts, NONE WORK. And I'm at home pregnant in agony! Great, who should I call? No one!!”

David de la Mere (dmeeno) also took to the micro blogging site, tweeting: “I probably shouldn't have been so smug about having an O2 signal yesterday. I don't have one now.”

High profile O2 users also took to twitter to complain - including former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and BBC presenter Huw Edwards.

Variations on the O2 theme had been trending on twitter since yesterday and 'My o2' was still doing so in London this morning.

The problems at 02 come against a backdrop of recent high-profile system failures.

A NatWest bank IT meltdown affected the banking services for customers and has left the company still clearing up the chaos caused by the failures three weeks later.

It is claimed the group has resolved 90% of the 21,000 issues that could not be resolved straight away.

In other technological failure news - there was a rare outage of the BBC news website yesterday after what the public service broadcaster described as a “major technical issue”.

The BBC has declined to provide further details but said an investigation has been launched.

Michael Allen, director of IT service management at technology performance company Compuware, said: “In recent weeks we've seen how technology problems can have significant problems on the everyday lives of millions of people. First we saw the problems at NatWest and RBS and now 02. Not being able to make a call will be as serious to many people as not being able to take cash out of the bank.

“Unfortunately, these problems will only continue to increase unless organisations take a fundamentally different approach to the way they manage the performance of the IT systems we rely on to go about our day to day lives.

“O2's ability to deliver a service to customers will rely on hundreds of different components, systems and applications working in harmony. This can make preventing these types of service disruptions difficult as well as finding the root cause time consuming.”

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Life & Style blogs

Wandsworth tops aspiring young professionals hotspot list

Other popular areas include Didsbury, Clifton in Bristol, central Cambridge and West Bridgford

Christian GPs and the morning after pill: Much needed clarification

Doctors are allowed to have personal beliefs, just as long as these beliefs do not interfere with th...

Justin Webb on the medical advances in tackling heart disease

BBC journalist Justin Webb talks about his experiences of the advances in preventing heart attacks a...

       
Independent
Travel Shop
India and Shimla
14 nights from only £1899pp Find out more
Prague city break
Three nights from £199pp Find out more
4* Soreda hotel break, Malta
Seven nights all-inclusive from £399pp Find out more

ES Rentals

    iJobs Job Widget
    iJobs Gadgets & Tech

    Change Manager,Hampshire,Telecomms,SC Clear,£200PD

    Negotiable: Orgtel: Change Manager, Hampshire, Telecomms, SC Cleared, £200 per...

    SAP PP

    £45000 - £60000 per annum: Progressive Recruitment: SAP PP functional consulta...

    SAP SD Consultant

    £475 - £476 per day + negotiable: Progressive Recruitment: SAP SD Contract Con...

    SAP Consultant MM/WM

    £40000 - £47000 per annum + BENEFITS : Progressive Recruitment: Sap Consultant...

    Day In a Page

    'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'

    Masculinity in crisis?

    'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'
    Have US shock jocks gone too far?

    Have US shock jocks gone too far?

    An incendiary remark from Rush Limbaugh may be the beginning of the end for outspoken right-wing US broadcasters
    The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey pays more income tax than big cities of the North

    The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey

    Elmbridge pays more income tax than big cities of the North
    Heavenly Bodies

    Heavenly Bodies

    Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell
    'He will always be a friend': Jackie Stewart backs Polanski

    'He will always be a friend'

    Jackie Stewart backs Roman Polanski
    The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

    The price of pacifism

    From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
    'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

    Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

    To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
    Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

    Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

    Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
    Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

    Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

    If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
    The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

    The experts' guide to summer

    From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
    Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

    Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

    Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
    Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

    Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

    The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
    Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

    Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

    Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
    Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

    Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

    Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
    One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

    One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

    Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in