Network Crash

Martin complained that his mobile phone wasn’t working today. It’s an old Nokia, which has proved flaky in the past, so I thought that we’d probably need to get it replaced. Still, I thought I’d take a look at it and see if it just needed cleaning. First thing I noticed was that it was not showing as being connected to a network. Funny, thought I, so I took a look at the settings. Try as I might, I couldn’t get it connected to the Dutch Vodafone network, while my mobile, which also uses Vodafone was OK.

 

I thought that it might be a problem with the phone, so I swapped Martin’s SIM card into my phone. Still no network. Very odd, thought I. I then tried to look at the Dutch Vodafone web site – and that was also out of action. A news item on the Tweakers site revealed the cause – there’s a countrywide problem with Vodafone’s mobile network, and doubtless the web site has crashed through the actions of thousands of irate Dutch Vodafone subscribers trying to find out why their mobiles have stopped working. Having replaced Martin’s SIM card in his own phone, and restarted mine, I see that now my phone is also not working.

 

The problem started at 13:15 today, and as of now, 16:45, it’s still not resolved. Vodafone personnel must be feeling very uncomfortable at the moment – as an old acquaintance would put it: they’re running around in brown trousers…

 

Update: it’s now over 21 hours since the problem started, and the Vodafone network still isn’t back in the air. I suspect thousands of the 4.7 million Dutch subscribers are beginning to think about changing their mobile service provider…