Spain: Telefónica network failure caused phone service to be down in several regions

A network failure affecting telecommunications company Telefónica caused several users to have no service for hours in several regions of Spain, including the ability to contact emergency services or accessing the internet.

Through statements picked up by AFP, Telefónica reported that the failure came from "work" that was being done to upgrade the network.

"We have had an incident that has affected the fixed communications services of some companies and public services," Telefónica stated, adding that the problem was solved "completely" some three hours later.

As soon as the communications problems began, regional and national emergency services issued statements to explain that emergency telephone contact numbers were not working.

Specifically, the most affected regions were the Communities of Valencia, Aragon and the Basque Country. Andalusia, Catalonia, Cantabria, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands also experienced network failures, although to a lesser extent.

In addition to Spain, Telefónica operates in Germany, Brazil, the U.K., Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The blackout that paralyzed Spain

A few weeks ago, Spain and other countries like Portugal, Andorra and parts of southern France, suffered a power cut that lasted more than half a day until began to be gradually restored. The VOZ newsroom in Madrid was directly affected and its workers were unable to perform their jobs.

Spanish authorities initially reported that the loss of electricity was an "energy blackout," i.e., a total failure in the electricity system due to, among other possible causes, an uncontrolled increase in demand. However, they said that it is necessary to wait for an investigation, which has already begun, to clarify the specific reasons for the outage. A cyberattack has not been ruled out.