A major phone network failure hit Spain early Tuesday, May 20, cutting off access to emergency lines in several parts of the country for hours.Â
The issue came just weeks after the nation experienced a major power outage that affected transportation and daily activities.
The disruption happened during the early hours of the morning and was caused by a planned system upgrade by Telefónica, one of Spain’s top telecom providers.
The company confirmed that the update affected fixed communication services, including landlines and internet connections.
Many people across different regions, such as Valencia, Aragón, and the Basque Country, were unable to call the emergency number 112.
In response, emergency services in the affected regions quickly shared alternative mobile numbers online so people could still ask for help.
Other areas like Catalonia, Extremadura, and Andalusia also reported problems with their emergency systems, but local authorities said they had backup plans in place.
By late morning, Telefónica announced that services had been restored, and the country’s digital transformation minister also confirmed the recovery.
He said the government had been in touch with Telefónica since the beginning of the problem.
Telefónica, which provides service to more than 41 million people and controls most of the country’s landlines, faced criticism on social media during the outage.
Downdetector, a site that monitors online service problems, showed that other providers such as Movistar, O2, and Orange also saw connection issues around the same time.
