In recent years, a major part of the world’s population has been relying on the internet for entertainment purposes. And the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in strengthening this reliance further. With the spread of the pandemic and the ensuing restrictions and lockdowns, people forced to stay at home turned to the online streaming platforms for some respite.
But, while internet access makes it easier to view live television, shows, movies, etc., it comes with a few problems. For example, a faulty server can cut you off from the online world. As a result, even a temporary interruption in service can become a massive issue for people depending entirely on the internet for entertainment.
On 2nd December 2021, Hundreds of Virgin Media customers in the UK faced a similar situation when an internal issue led to a nationwide outage that lasted over 10 hours. The sudden blackout in services left viewers unable to access their TV channels, and in some cases, even restricted internet access.
Although the firm was able to get things back on track, the delay in the restoration wasn’t received well by many customers. For people unaware of what led to the issues, read further down to know what caused Virgin Media Outage and how company faced customers reactions.
What Caused The Virgin Media Down?
A top-rated telecommunications company in the UK, Virgin Media offers television, internet, and telephone services for its nationwide customers. On Thursday, the company faced a severe backlash on social media after customers faced several hours of service interruption.
Customers started experiencing issues from the morning of Thursday, 2nd December. According to Downdetector, a platform that tracks and provides real-time information on service outage issues worldwide, users started reporting problems from around 11:05 AM (GMT), which escalated later during the day.
The firm was quick to respond, assuring users that they were looking into the issue and trying to restore normal services as soon as possible.
After several hours of the Virgin Media outage, the company confirmed via their social media handle that restoration was being carried out in full swing, with many TV channels back for the viewers. They even included a note for their customers who wanted to watch the Premier League games. They were advised to go to channel 205 to view the matches. They also provided a link to a streaming service for people facing trouble accessing the same.
In a further official statement posted by the company on Friday, 3rd December, Virgin Media informed their customers that the services were now back as usual. They also apologized for the inconvenience caused by the outage. As per the company, the nationwide outage resulted from a major power failure issue on their end. They further mentioned that their team of engineers dedicated their full efforts in dealing with the issue to ensure the restoration of services at the earliest.
How Customers Reacted?
Several people took to Twitter to put forward their dissatisfaction with the outage soon after it started. But, as the hours rolled on, the exasperation increased rapidly. Thousands of people reported issues with their connections on Downdetector at various times of the day.
The outage wasn’t restricted to only TV services for some customers, though, as many Twitter users complained about a lack of internet too. One user tweeted that his internet and tv service were both down.
While the company agreed to a disruption in their TV services, they denied a far-reaching outage in their internet services, terming it more of a temporary local issue. Users, however, claimed to have problems with both wireless and wired internet services provided by the company.
The services were slowly coming back on track by the end of Thursday, as per the official statement by the company. But the outage was far from over in reality, as several customers continued to report issues with accessing the TV services. Virgin Media representatives were quick to respond, urging them to reboot their devices while further apologizing for the issues faced.
The representatives also provided troubleshooting advice to help deal with issues regarding internet connections. Customers were referred to service pages to check if there was an issue with the connection in a particular area. They also shared customer care numbers to report their specific complaints.
Despite all this, several people still claimed disruptions in service on platforms like Twitter and Downdetector, even on Friday. At present, though, the services are back for most users, although some sporadic complaints can still be observed.
While many people were relieved when Virgin Media Outage started recovering and the services ultimately resumed, others were not so lenient with their criticism. Several Twitter users wanted to be compensated for the over 10-hour outage. While one user asked for a refund for everyone as per the number of hours lost due to no fault of theirs, another demanded a reduction on their next bill amount.
Not all comments were negative, though, as many users chose to stand by the company. Some Twitter users actively urged others to keep their calm while the engineers worked overtime to get the issues fixed as soon as possible.
Are Service Outages Becoming An Everyday Thing?
Service outages aren’t a rare thing in recent times. A couple of months ago, a major outage shut down Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp – all owned by the social media giant company Meta (earlier known as Facebook).
A situation of panic was created with billions of people worldwide being unable to get in touch with their dear ones due to the failure of services. The services were restored after a record six hours – the longest in the company’s history. Facebook later put up an official statement assuring users that the outage, caused by a faulty configuration change, had been fixed by their engineers.
Twitter, another popular social media platform, also faced minor service outages over the last month where some users faced issues in viewing pictures and videos on the website.
For Virgin Media, too, service interruptions at a smaller scale aren’t unheard of, as can be understood from user comments on DownDetector and Twitter. But, a total blackout lasting more than 10 hours at a stretch isn’t usual for the telecommunication company. Being unable to access the internet, TV channels, and online streaming services they had subscribed to, it’s no wonder that many customers tweeted about moving on to some other service provider.
