Hundreds of thousands of Vodafone customers across the UK were left without mobile, broadband and landline service for hours on Monday due to a major network issue. The problems began around 2:50pm, with over 130,000 reports of disruptions according to Downdetector, a platform that tracks network outages.
A Vodafone spokesperson confirmed that the company’s 4G and 5G services were impacted by the technical fault, which also took down the websites for Vodafone UK and VodafoneThree. Customers of other networks that rely on Vodafone’s infrastructure, including Voxi, Asda Mobile, Talkmobile and Lebara Mobile, also reported problems.
While the exact cause is still under investigation, a UK security source said the incident was believed to be the result of an internal technical glitch, rather than a potential cyber attack. Some services began to be restored around 5pm, but the widespread disruption will be highly embarrassing for Vodafone, coming just months after it finalised a multi-billion pound merger of its UK business with rival Three.
The network problems highlight the long-standing issues with mobile coverage and data speeds across Britain. Despite promises to invest billions to improve infrastructure, the UK still lags behind other developed nations when it comes to 5G rollout and overall network quality. With 70.7% of mobile connections still relying on the older 4G technology, customers continue to suffer from patchy service and slow download speeds.
Cyber security expert Jake Moore warned that such outages can “severely disrupt access to digital services” by preventing devices from connecting to Vodafone’s domain. However, he said the current evidence points more towards an internal network failure rather than a potential cyber incident.
The disruption is a major setback for Vodafone, which had touted the benefits of its merger with Three, claiming it would “transform the country’s digital infrastructure”. Shares in the company fell 0.6% on Monday as the scale of the blackout became apparent across Britain.
