If you’re using an O2 mobile today then, well, you probably won’t be able to read this … not unless you’re on WiFi. Since 5.30 this morning there’s been major problems with connectivity, which O2 are blaming on a third party software issue.
Up to 32 million UK users are without data, however a spokesperson for O2 told us that it might not be just them…
We believe other mobile operators around the world are also affected. Our technical teams are working with their teams to ensure this is fixed as quickly as possible.
We’d encourage our customers to use WiFi wherever they can and we apologise for the inconvenience caused.
The network has stated that voice calls should work fine, although we’ve been contacted by a couple of people who are complaining that calls aren’t working. The network also provides the back-end connections for Tesco Mobile, Giffgaff, Sky and Lycamobile customers.
More as we get it. If you can get online, you can see the status of the outage on the O2 Status Site. Personally (and this could just be me), although this might be causing problems with other networks around the world, it’s not something I’d want to hear about it my mobile wasn’t working – I just want my network to work.
Update – It’s now gone 2PM here in the UK and we’re hearing that Ericsson are the “third party supplier” to blame for this failure. There’s still no light at the end of the tunnel for O2, giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, Sky and Lycamobile customers sadly.
Update – O2 are now telling us that their network is straining under the weight of old-fashioned voice calls, as people switch back to the “old” way of communicating. A spokesman has told us….
As a result of this incident, we are experiencing a high demand on our network which means some customers may have issues making and receiving voice calls.
Update – Ericsson have fallen on their sword and admitted that they’re the “third party supplier” who have caused the misery. An Ericsson spokesman told Reuters today that…
We are aware of the issue and are working together with our customers to solve it as soon as possible.
Update – You know it’s bad when the web guys have to find a big red font on the Network status page…
Update – CEO of Ericsson Borje Ekholm has issued a press statement stating that faulty equipment caused the outage and this is now “being decommissioned”. The full text reads as follows…
Following network disturbances in a number of Ericsson’s (NASDAQ:ERIC) customer networks, Ericsson has taken immediate action to minimize impact and support the restoration of services.
During December 6, 2018, Ericsson has identified an issue in certain nodes in the core network resulting in network disturbances for a limited number of customers in multiple countries using two specific software versions of the SGSN–MME (Serving GPRS Support Node – Mobility Management Entity).
Börje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson, says: “The faulty software that has caused these issues is being decommissioned and we apologize not only to our customers but also to their customers. We work hard to ensure that our customers can limit the impact and restore their services as soon as possible.
An initial root cause analysis indicates that the main issue was an expired certificate in the software versions installed with these customers. A complete and comprehensive root cause analysis is still in progress. Our focus is now on solving the immediate issues.
During the course of December 6, most of the affected customers’ network services have been successfully restored. We are working closely with the remaining customers that are still experiencing issues.
We had a little smile at the usage of the phrase, “a limited number of customers in multiple countries”. In other words, “a huge amount of customers”.
Update The CEO of Telefonica UK, Mark Evans, has apologised via a tweet…
I want to reassure our customers that we are doing everything we can to fix the issue with our network and say how sorry I am to everyone affected. My teams are working really hard with Ericsson to find a swift resolution. Stay updated: https://t.co/TGw5OUurma
— Mark Evans (@MarkEvansO2) December 6, 2018
Update – O2 now state that services will be “fully restored” by Friday morning.
Update – Following a pretty awful day for the network, service has now been restored for all customers, including giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, Sky and Lycamobile users.
Update – It looks like the outage, which affected a total of 32 million customers (25 million on O2 and 7 million with giffgaff, Tesco Mobile, Sky and Lycamobile), was caused by Ericsson forgetting to renew a certificate.
Ericsson president Börje Ekholm, stated that…
An initial root cause analysis (shows that the) main issue was an expired certificate in the software versions installed with these customers.