Vodafone Identifies Software Issue Behind Widespread Internet Outage

Vodafone experienced a significant outage affecting its broadband, 4G, and 5G services on Monday afternoon, impacting hundreds of thousands of customers across the UK. The company confirmed that the disruption, which also affected its app, website, and customer services, was caused by a non-malicious software issue with a vendor partner, not a cyber attack. The issue has been fully resolved, and Vodafone issued an apology for the inconvenience. Over 130,000 users reported problems at the peak, according to Downdetector. Customers expressed frustration on social media and contacted Sky News, demanding compensation. Telecoms expert Sabrina Hoque noted that compensation of £9.76 per day may apply for broadband outages lasting over two days, per Ofcom guidelines, but the brief duration of this outage may limit claims. However, Melanie Pizzey from the Global Payroll Alliance suggested that Vodafone could face claims if financial losses or missed deadlines resulted from the downtime. Additionally, an X user warned of scammers posing as Vodafone representatives, urging customers to download apps for supposed compensation, highlighting risks of fraud following the outage.