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Reuters
23-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Fact Check: Telefonica hit by brief outage in Spain, no widespread network crash
Spanish telecom company Telefonica's services were briefly disrupted on May 20, contrary to internet posts that said the country had suffered its second communications blackout in a month. Spain suffered a massive power outage on April 28, which also affected phone and internet services. The May 20 disruption lasted a few hours and was limited to phone and internet users of Movistar, opens new tab and O2,, opens new tab due to a network update by owner Telefonica. Telefonica's Operations Director, Sergio Sanchez, said in a video posted on Instagram, opens new tab on the morning of May 20 that all services were restored 'except for a case or two where teams were working.' This information contrasted with posts on social media, opens new tab that said, 'BREAKING: Another massive network crash in Spain. The entire mobile network is down Spain just got hit with a full-scale telecom blackout - Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, O2, and Digimobil all went down. No signal. No internet. 112 emergency lines went dark in major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.' A spokesperson for Spain's Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service said in an email to Reuters that the May 20 incident only affected Telefonica services, its customers' 112 emergency line access and landlines, and was fixed by noon, as the company announced. The rest of the telecoms operators mentioned had no significant incidents, the spokesperson said. Telecoms operators in Spain are obliged by law, opens new tab to report an outage that affects telephone, internet or emergency services, the spokesperson said. A spokesperson for Spain's largest operator, Orange's MasOrange, told Reuters that MasOrange's customers or services were not affected. Some posts cited Downdetector, an online platform that provides status information on internet outages or disruptions, as the source of their information. A spokesperson for the platform said Downdetector Spain received over 33,000 reports of fixed broadband issues with Movistar on May 20, and customers of O2, Vodafone, Digi, Orange and MasMovil also reported similar outages. However, mobile services were not affected and the disruption was nowhere near the scale of the recent nationwide power outage. The telecoms directorate of Spain's National Authority for Markets and Competition, service providers Digi and Vodafone did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Misleading. Telefonica's services in Spain were disrupted briefly on May 20, but there is no evidence of a complete network outage. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
Phone Arena
21-05-2025
- Phone Arena
All telecom providers in Spain suffer from a widespread outage
Some weeks ago, all eyes were on Spain and Portugal: it was unbelievable that in 2025, two major European countries could experience a total power blackout for 18 hours. The outage affected millions, halted trains and flights, forced businesses to close, and much more. Now, Spain has been experiencing a widespread phone network failure and disrupted communications early Tuesday, disabling emergency lines in much of the country for several hours. The disruption affected all major telecom providers, including Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, Digimobil, and O2. According to the monitoring site DownDetector, the blackout began around 5 a.m., leaving customers unable to make phone calls, send or receive text messages, or access mobile of service loss quickly spread nationwide, with users in major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia, Seville, Murcia, and Bilbao describing total blackouts and signal loss. Internet issues were also widespread, adding to the impact. Millions were affected. | Image by PhoneArena Telefónica, one of Spain's largest telecom companies, stated that the outage resulted from planned maintenance work. The company explained that the network upgrade unexpectedly affected fixed communication services, including landlines and internet connections. Many users also found themselves unable to reach the national emergency number, 112. In response to the service disruption, emergency departments in Valencia, Aragón, and the Basque Country took to social media to share alternative mobile numbers for emergency contact. Authorities in Catalonia and Extremadura confirmed their 112 services were impacted but assured the public that backup systems had been implemented. In Andalusia, officials acknowledged a national issue with the emergency network, though they reported that service was gradually late morning, Telefónica announced that full service had been restored. Spain's minister for digital transformation, Óscar López, confirmed the resolution and expressed gratitude for the company's prompt response. He stated that authorities had been in contact with Telefónica from the outset and noted that the incident had been resolved entirely. With over 41 million users, Telefónica operates nearly all of Spain's landline infrastructure. DownDetector also recorded a sharp rise in outage reports early Tuesday across other major providers like Movistar, O2, and Orange.
Morocco World
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Nationwide Telecommunication Blackout Hits Spain
Rabat — Spain woke up to a major telecommunications crisis early Saturday when phone and internet services crashed across the country. The outage reportedly struck around 5 a.m., knocking out service for customers of all major providers, including Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, Digimobil, and O2, according to outage tracker Downdetector. Most of mainland Spain felt the impact. Internet users in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Murcia, and Bilbao reported complete signal loss and internet failures. The blackout also spread to the Basque Country, Aragon, and the Valencian Community. While the Balearic Islands escaped largely unaffected, some residents in the Canary Islands experienced connectivity problems. The situation turned serious when several emergency 112 lines went down. Regional authorities quickly published alternative phone numbers for police and emergency services. Spanish broadcaster RTVC shared backup contact information for local police, national police, and the Guardia Civil. Telefonica, Spain's biggest telecommunications company, confirmed, their engineers are working to fix the problem. Emergency lines in Aragon have returned to normal operation, but many regions still face disruptions. Read also: Spain Hails Morocco for Key Contribution to Blackout Recovery Local newspaper El Correo suggested the blackout might stem from a network upgrade, though officials haven't confirmed this theory. This crisis comes just four weeks following a similar major nationwide power outage that triggered panic across Spain and Portugal. That incident affected roughly 50 million people, causing widespread chaos by cutting power, stopping public transportation, disabling traffic lights, and shutting down ATMs. Following investigations, the Spanish government confirmed last week that the major blackout was not, contrary to earlier reports, the result of a cyberattack by a foreign power or pro-Russian hackers. Tags: Internet spainSpainSpain telecommunication
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Business Standard
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Spain hit by nationwide mobile network blackout weeks after power crisis
Spain was plunged into fresh chaos early Tuesday morning (local time) after a major mobile network outage left millions without phone or internet access, just weeks after the country experienced a widespread power blackout. The mobile blackout affected all major telecom providers including Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, Digimobil and O2. European media reported that the issue originated around 2 am and only got worse by 5 am, disrupting services in cities across the country such as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, and Malaga. Users reported complete loss of signal, inability to make calls, receive texts, or use mobile data. The outage also disrupted access to the EU-wide emergency number 112 in several regions, including Aragón, Extremadura, the Basque Country and the Valencia community, prompting authorities to issue alternative contact numbers. Some services were gradually restored later in the morning. Network upgrade at Telefonica blamed for outage Spanish media attributed the failure to a major technical fault during a network upgrade by Telefonica, the country's second-largest company and key operator for most of Spain's mobile infrastructure. Landline services were particularly hard hit, though all voice-related services experienced disruptions to varying degrees. A Telefonica spokesperson acknowledged the problem, telling UK daily, The Independent,"We have carried out some network upgrades that have affected specific services at some companies. We are working to resolve this." Additionally, the Ministry for Digital Transformation said it is monitoring the situation and seeking further details. 2025 Iberian Peninsula Blackout This is the second major infrastructure failure in Spain in less than a month. On April 28, a nationwide power outage, dubbed the 2025 Iberian Peninsula Blackout, left Spain and parts of Portugal without electricity for nearly 10 hours, severely affecting transport systems, payment terminals, and public safety infrastructure. Although cyberattack theories initially surfaced, authorities later ruled them out. The blackout occurred as Spain's energy mix leaned heavily on renewables, with solar and wind accounting for over 60 per cent of electricity production just before the crash, prompting critics, especially opposition parties and some external observers, to question the stability of the region's push toward net-zero targets, according to a report by CNBC. However, both Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Red Eléctrica de España (REE), the national grid operator, firmly denied that renewable energy sources were to blame. REE president Beatriz Corredor told Cadena SER radio that current renewable technologies are stable and equipped with systems ensuring safe, conventional operation. As power gradually returned and life resumed across the region, the incident sparked debate over the resilience of green energy infrastructure.
NDTV
20-05-2025
- NDTV
Spain Now Hit With Network Outage, Weeks After Nationwide Blackout
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. A major mobile network outage in Spain early Tuesday left millions without phone or internet access, disrupting emergency services and daily communications. The issue, linked to a technical fault during a network upgrade by Telefonica, caused widespread chaos. A widespread mobile network outage plunged Spain into chaos early Tuesday morning, leaving millions without phone or internet access. The outage, which affected all major telecom providers including Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, Digimobil, and O2, began around 2 am and worsened by 5 am, disrupting services in major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, and Malaga. Users reported a complete loss of signal, inability to make calls, receive texts, or use mobile data. The outage also had serious implications for emergency services, disrupting access to the EU-wide emergency number 112 in several regions, including Aragón, Extremadura, the Basque Country, and the Valencia community. Authorities quickly responded by issuing alternative contact numbers to ensure public safety. Some services were gradually restored later in the morning, but the disruption caused significant inconvenience to millions of users. According to Spanish media, the failure was attributed to a major technical fault during a network upgrade by Telefonica, the country's second-largest company and key operator for most of Spain's mobile infrastructure. Landline services were hard hit, and all voice-related services experienced disruptions to varying degrees. A Telefonica spokesperson acknowledged the problem, telling UK daily, The Independent, stating, "We have carried out some network upgrades that have affected specific services at some companies. We are working to resolve this." The Ministry for Digital Transformation also stepped in, saying it is monitoring the situation and seeking further details. This outage comes less than a month after a nationwide power outage, dubbed the 2025 Iberian Peninsula Blackout, left Spain and parts of Portugal without electricity for nearly 10 hours. The power outage severely affected transport systems, payment terminals, and public safety infrastructure. Cyberattack theories initially surfaced, but authorities later ruled them out.
