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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.