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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/apr/04/thousands-of-virgin-media-customers-in-uk-hit-by-outages
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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Thousands of Virgin Media customers in UK hit by outages | Thousands of Virgin Media customers in UK hit by outages |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Downdetector, which tracks such glitches, reports problems with internet, telephone and TV | Downdetector, which tracks such glitches, reports problems with internet, telephone and TV |
| Thousands of Virgin Media customers across the UK have experienced widespread internet, telephone and TV outages on Tuesday morning. | |
| Downdetector, which tracks outages, said more than 25,000 people had reported problems with their services , with the glitch first noticed by some customers shortly after 1am BST. | Downdetector, which tracks outages, said more than 25,000 people had reported problems with their services , with the glitch first noticed by some customers shortly after 1am BST. |
| The cause was not immediately clear but caused havoc for customers, including those relying on internet and phone connections for work. By late morning the worst of the issues had been resolved. | The cause was not immediately clear but caused havoc for customers, including those relying on internet and phone connections for work. By late morning the worst of the issues had been resolved. |
| Looks like #virginmedia is having issues nationwide. One of those rare instances where working from home becomes problematic | Looks like #virginmedia is having issues nationwide. One of those rare instances where working from home becomes problematic |
| “Looks like Virgin Media is having issues nationwide. One of those rare instances where working from home becomes problematic,” one Twitter user said. | “Looks like Virgin Media is having issues nationwide. One of those rare instances where working from home becomes problematic,” one Twitter user said. |
| “I’m self-employed and work from home. Who at your company shall I invoice for the money I will lose today while your internet service is down?” another tweeted. | “I’m self-employed and work from home. Who at your company shall I invoice for the money I will lose today while your internet service is down?” another tweeted. |
| Hi @virginmedia , I'm self employed and work from home. Who at your company shall I invoice for the money I will lose today while your Internet service is down?#VirginMediaoutage #WFH #broadband | Hi @virginmedia , I'm self employed and work from home. Who at your company shall I invoice for the money I will lose today while your Internet service is down?#VirginMediaoutage #WFH #broadband |
| A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We’ve restored broadband services for customers but are closely monitoring the situation as our engineers continue to investigate. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.” | A Virgin Media spokesperson said: “We’ve restored broadband services for customers but are closely monitoring the situation as our engineers continue to investigate. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.” |
| The outage was widespread enough that Virgin Media’s corporate website was unavailable for several hours on Tuesday morning. Even after it was restored, the company had to serve all users the mobile version of the site, which was apparently being rebuilt on the fly. | The outage was widespread enough that Virgin Media’s corporate website was unavailable for several hours on Tuesday morning. Even after it was restored, the company had to serve all users the mobile version of the site, which was apparently being rebuilt on the fly. |
| The company’s online FAQ promises customers compensation for total outages but only on a per-day basis, suggesting it may be at Virgin Media’s discretion as to whether to pay out for a sub-day failure. | The company’s online FAQ promises customers compensation for total outages but only on a per-day basis, suggesting it may be at Virgin Media’s discretion as to whether to pay out for a sub-day failure. |
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| As the outage lifted, some users reported being able to reconnect to the internet after a reboot of their router or modem, while others found their connection could be restored by connecting through a virtual private network (VPN). | As the outage lifted, some users reported being able to reconnect to the internet after a reboot of their router or modem, while others found their connection could be restored by connecting through a virtual private network (VPN). |
| That workaround may point to where the wider problems lie, since it is similar to glitches such as those that knocked Facebook offline in 2021, and were the result of a flaw in the deep-level routing systems that allow internet services to connect to each other. | That workaround may point to where the wider problems lie, since it is similar to glitches such as those that knocked Facebook offline in 2021, and were the result of a flaw in the deep-level routing systems that allow internet services to connect to each other. |
| Adding to the pain, the outage comes just three days after Virgin Media hit customers with a 13.8% price rise, adding almost £7 to the cost of a typical £50 broadband and TV package. The increase, which is above inflation, is typical for the broadband sector, which has been criticised by the consumer rights group Which? and is the focus of an Ofcom investigation. | Adding to the pain, the outage comes just three days after Virgin Media hit customers with a 13.8% price rise, adding almost £7 to the cost of a typical £50 broadband and TV package. The increase, which is above inflation, is typical for the broadband sector, which has been criticised by the consumer rights group Which? and is the focus of an Ofcom investigation. |