20 May 2025 : All major mobile networks went down in Spain on Tuesday, just weeks after the European country was hit by a national power outage.
The affected networks included Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, Digimobil, and O2. The outages hit all services contracted by companies. Complaints soared as landline, internet, and emergency contact services were knocked offline early Tuesday morning.
The affected areas spanned all across Spain, from Madrid, Andalucía, Galicia, the Basque Country, Aragon, Navarra, Extremadura, and the Valencian Community.
According to reports in Spanish media, networks contracted with Telefónica appeared to have been hit, and the outages do not appear to be affecting individuals’ network access. Telefonica said that ‘network upgrade work’ has been carried out, affecting ‘specific services’ across the country.
“We have carried out some network updates that have affected specific services of some companies. We are working to solve the problem,” a spokesperson from the company told Reuters.
Emergency phone lines, which were also down, have since been restored in some areas of Spain. In Catalonia, the impact was ‘minimal’ and the emergency number has been reachable, according to a report by El Mundo.
The communication outage comes just weeks after a power outage that affected the Iberian Peninsula.
Power outage in Spain
A major power outage had affected millions in Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France late last month. Spain’s Prime Minister attributed the blackout to an issue in Europe’s grid.
Local reports indicated that the outage disrupted traffic lights, airports, and the Madrid underground. Spanish grid operator Red Electrica worked for hours with energy companies to restore power.
Photos from Spain’s El País newspaper showed halted metro trains in Madrid, police managing traffic, and reporters working by flashlight in a darkened office.
In France, the grid operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE) informed Reuters that there was a short power outage, and the electricity was been restored in a short span.
Summary: Spain faces nationwide outage of major mobile and internet networks weeks after a massive power blackout, affecting emergency services and major cities.