Glitch for delayed O₂ float plans after network failure left 30 million cut off

O₂ parent Telefonica is thought likely to further delay its plans to sell or float the mobile phones network after yesterday’s outage.

Telefonica has already delayed plans for a £10 billion float this year, citing Brexit fears. It is now unlikely to restore the float plans until it has got to the bottom of the issue that saw millions unable to get online.

O₂ had no comment on the float, but did admit it was likely to face compensation claims. Today the phone network said its services had been restored, as it apologised to customers and thanked them for their patience. Disruption began at 5am yesterday. The 3G data service began returning last night.

Today O₂ said: “We can now report that our 4G network has been restored. Our technical teams will continue to monitor service performance closely over the next few days to ensure we remain stable. A review will be carried out with Ericsson to understand fully what happened.

“We’d like to thank our customers for their patience during the loss of service on Thursday 6 December and we’re sorry for any impact the issue may have caused.”

O₂ boss Mark Evans was said to be considering how to compensate customers. He said: “I want to let our customers know how sorry I am.”

Customers are likely to be entitled to money back for loss of service, especially if they can prove they had to spend money to use a phone or connect to wi-fi.