Huge outage as phone networks down in tourist hotspot weeks after power cuts

A phone network has gone down across Spain with emergency services out of contact this morning, just weeks after a national blackout caused chaos. Problems with Telefonica have affected

corporate landline networks and data services, with some emergency lines forced to set up alternative numbers for locals. Phone lines were first reported as being down in the Valencia region

with people unable to call the emergency 112 number. Sine then the Basque Country, Andalusia, Extremadura, and Aragon have also experienced problems. The exact cause of the devastating

outage has not yet been specified but Telefonica said that the problem happened during a network upgrade. _ARE YOU AFFECTED BY TELEPHONE LINES DOWN IN SPAIN. CONTACT US AT

[email protected]_ Millions of people across Spain and Portugal were plunged into darkness after a huge power cut prompted an unprecedented state of emergency last month. Widespread

travel and disruption left thousands of train passengers stranded and millions of people without mobile phone coverage or internet. _THIS LIVE BLOG HAS NOW FINISHED_ 10:51Tim Hanlon

HOSPITALS IN ANDALUSIA AFFECTED BY PHONE LINES GOING DOWN BUT SERVICES NOW RESTORED Hospitals and medical centres in Andalusia have been affected by the telephone outages but are now

operating as normal. In the eight regions of Almería, Jaén, Huelva, and Málaga, health centres were impacted as well as central hospital health provision in Andalusia. The 061 emergency

service is operational in Andalusia although other telephone lines at hospitals and health centres in Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, and Granada are still experiencing incidents. The health

service has called for calm as contingency plans for these cases have been implemented. 10:24Tim Hanlon INTERNET SERVICES STILL AFFECTED BY TELEPHONE LINES GOING DOWN Internet users first

began reporting that they were unable to connect to the internet shortly after 2am this morning. According to the Downdetector website, the incidents particularly affected fixed broadband

internet, with 72% of the reported outages. Another 18% of reports said they had no signal, and 10% stated a "total outage." There continue to be outages for customers of internet

providers including Movistar and O2 although not as many as earlier this morning. Spain's Ministry for Digital Transformation told local media that it is "monitoring the situation,

requesting precise information and timescales for a solution". 10:07Tim Hanlon ALTERNATIVE EMERGENCY SERVICE LINES TO CALL FOR TOURISTS IN SPAIN For Brits in the Valencia region the

number +34 963428000 was set up for people needing to contacting emergency services. The local Valencian authorities have given it as an alternative to the normal 112 due to problems on the

Telefonica network. The new number was given by the Emergency Coordination Centre in a message posted on social media at 8:18am this morning. It stated that it was set up due to "the

incidents being reported on the national communications network" and which it added were not "specifically related to the 112 service". The emergency lines to call in the

Aragon region are 683 63 82 73 ; 683 13 46 45 and 660 70 58 97. And in the Basque Country people are being told to call 900 112 088. 09:56Tim Hanlon PROBLEM CAUSED BY TELEFONICA NETWORK

UPDATE An upgrade has led to the telephone lines going down in Spain and it is thought the incident may have been related to the outage of Telefónica's MPLS (data switching network).

This provides the service to the 112 line and other key numbers which have all been affected. This morning, Telefonica had scheduled an intervention at 3:00am, and from that moment on, some

problems began to be felt with outgoing calls, said authorities in the Andalusian region. 09:48KEY EVENT EMERGENCY SERVICE LINES ARE NOW BACK FUNCTIONING IN SPAIN Telefónica reported that

emergency service communications had been fully restored but some problems are persisting for other landlines. "We have carried out some network upgrades that have affected specific

services at some companies. We are working to resolve this," previously said a Telefónica spokesperson. However in an update at 10.30am local time (9.30am in the UK), Telefonica said

that emergency lines could now be used across Spain. 09:42Tim Hanlon BLACKOUT BROUGHT SPAIN AND PORTUGAL TO A STANDSTILL AFTER POWER GRID CRASH An unprecedented blackout brought much of

Spain and Portugal to a standstill at the end of April, stranding thousands of train passengers and leaving millions of people without phone and internet coverage and access to cash from

ATMs across the Iberian Peninsula. The sudden crash of the power grid also left authorities searching for its cause. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez addressed the nation and said that

almost 11 hours after the nation ground to a halt, government experts were still trying to determine what happened. Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica’s head of operations Eduardo

Prieto said the event was “exceptional and extraordinary” but there has been a lack of clarity from authorities about the actual reason why the whole network went down. 09:36Tim Hanlon

TELEFONICA SAYS IT IS 'WORKING TO RESOLVE' PROBLEM AFTER 'NETWORK UPGRADES' Landline telephones appeart to have been the worst affected by the latest outage to affect

Spain. Residents in several regions have been told that they will not be able to get through on the usual 112 emergency number. "We have carried out some network upgrades that have

affected specific services at some companies. We are working to resolve this," a Telefónica spokesperson said. 09:31Tim Hanlon CAUSE OF PHONE OUTAGE IS NOT KNOWN Phone lines were first

reported as being down in the Valencia region with people unable to call the emergency 112 number. Sine then the Basque Country, Andalusia, Extremadura, and Aragon are also experiencing

problems. The exact cause of the devastating outage has not yet been specified and authorities have said that work is underway to restore normal service. 09:29Tim Hanlon PHONE PROBLEMS

FOLLOWS ELECTRICAL OUTAGES IN SPAIN A fresh power outage hit parts of Spain on May 8 causing chaos for tens of thousands of people including tourists. The Spanish island of La Palma in the

Canary Islands archipelago suffered an outage, the local council said in a post on X. La Radio Canaria took to social media to explain how the power outage could potentially affect up to

30,000 people in La Palma, including locals and holidaymakers. 09:23Tim Hanlon MAJOR NETWORK TELEFONICA DOWN IN SPAIN Spain's department of security said that around 4am local time,

emergency call centre operators noticed "problems with some of the calls coming [in]". People affected by the outage that were desperate for emergency services had their

"voices cut off" during calls, with operators having to ring them back.