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Customers say Three mobile outage preventing 999 calls Three admits 999 calls didn't get through during outage
(about 11 hours later)
Customers of the mobile network, Three, have told the BBC they cannot make 999 calls, as the network faces a significant outage. The mobile network Three has said some 999 calls didn't get through during a major outage which affected thousands of customers.
The firm has apologised after more than ten thousand people told outage tracker Downdetector they were unable to make or receive phone calls on Thursday. The company said the problem with its services on Thursday is now fixed, but has warned of further issues due to Storm Éowyn.
The BBC has been told by members of the public that 999 calls will not connect from their devices using the Three network. The BBC has not been able to independently verify their claims. Customers told the BBC they couldn't make 999 calls during the interruption.
Three told the BBC it was "investigating this urgently", adding that data from emergency services showed the "majority" of 999 calls were being "connected via other networks". While the BBC has not been able to independently verify their specific claims, Three has said it received a "small number" of reports of 999 call failures and has launched an investigation.
There have also been several thousand reports from users of Smarty and ID Mobile - smaller mobile companies which use Three's network. The BBC was told by members of the public that 999 calls would not connect from their devices using the Three network.
Three's support team has been telling customers that it does not "have a timeframe" for a fix, but that the firm is "working hard to resolve this as soon as possible". A Three spokesperson said: "A normal volume of 999 calls were connected yesterday and our monitoring confirms the service is working fully this morning.
In a statement, Three said the company is "aware of a number of reports that customers have not been able to connect to 999 calls". "We apologise sincerely for the inconvenience caused by the issues on our voice network yesterday."
"We are taking this very seriously and are investigating this urgently and we apologise if anyone has been unable to successfully contact emergency services. More than ten thousand people told outage tracker Downdetector they were unable to make or receive phone calls on Three on Thursday.
The company also said in an update that "data from the emergency services shows normal volumes of 999 calls being placed via our network are being connected". Storm Éowyn could cause further problems
It told customers: "While it is likely your call will connect correctly to 999, if you have any issues please try another network or landline. Please do not try and test 999 calls from your device as it may prevent genuine calls being answered quickly." There were also been several thousand reports from users of Smarty and ID Mobile - smaller mobile companies which use Three's network.
In an earlier statement, Three had said that people were still able to use mobile data services and make 999 calls during the outage, though multiple people had told the BBC that was not the case for them. A Three spokesperson added: "Following an issue affecting voice calls yesterday, services have returned to normal overnight.
Three has around 10.5m customers across the UK, according to its website, but it is unclear how many of them are affected by the outages. "We continue to monitor and review all services throughout today to ensure full stability.
Many people on social media have shared their frustration at the outage and described the disruption they said it had caused them. "However, today we expect to see an additional impact on our service due to Storm Éowyn in some areas."
The spokesperson said extra engineering resources had been deployed to deal with any disruption caused by the storm, which is battering the UK on Friday.
Just after 07:00 on Friday, Downdetector had over 1,300 reports of outages on Three.
Three has around 10.5m customers across the UK, according to its website, but it is unclear how many of them were affected by the outage.
Many people on social media shared their frustration and described the disruption they said it had caused them.
One person claimed, external they had "missed a medical appointment" as a result of being unable to receive calls, while another said, external the issues had left their daughter "stranded".One person claimed, external they had "missed a medical appointment" as a result of being unable to receive calls, while another said, external the issues had left their daughter "stranded".
And several people have claimed, external they would be leaving the network altogether.And several people have claimed, external they would be leaving the network altogether.
In a statement the regulator Ofcom said: "We are aware that Three is experiencing problems with its network. We are in contact with Three to establish the scale and cause of the problem as soon as possible." In a statement on Thursday, the regulator Ofcom said it was in contact with the network to "establish the scale and cause of the problem as soon as possible".
It is not known whether customers will be able to claim compensation for the outage, although according to the Ofcom website it "may be appropriate" for providers to offer refunds "while repairs are being made".It is not known whether customers will be able to claim compensation for the outage, although according to the Ofcom website it "may be appropriate" for providers to offer refunds "while repairs are being made".
It comes a month after the UK regulator gave the go-ahead for Three to merge with former rival Vodafone in a £16.5bn deal.It comes a month after the UK regulator gave the go-ahead for Three to merge with former rival Vodafone in a £16.5bn deal.
It comes the same day a major outage affected artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. Meanwhile, the Three outage occured on the same day a major outage affected artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT.
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Have you been affected by the outage? Get in touchHave you been affected by the outage? Get in touch