By Joseph Keith
Mobile network giant EE has blamed “gremlins in the system” for a coverage blackout which left customers in Leeds without a signal for up to thirteen hours.
Customers were unable to make or receive calls and texts from 7pm last night with many phones out of service for at least a four hour period.
The blackout affected EE users across the UK but customers between Leeds and Sheffield suffered the worst of the outage.
The network has been intermittent since yesterday morning and the return of coverage has varied for customers, from midnight to 6am, with some customers still without service this afternoon.
Leeds Metropolitan University student, Dan Barker, 21, lost network coverage at 9pm. The construction management student, originally from Snaith, pays £46 per month for his phone contract on EE.
He said: “I lost my friends out in Leeds last night and was unable to call a taxi. I had to walk all the way home to Burley from the city centre. I’m hoping for at least some of my line rental back for the month as the frustration was unbelievable. I work part time at Phones4u of all places!”
Frustrated EE customers were demanding compensation for the loss of coverage last night on Twitter.
A phone operator at EE customer services said: “It was a technical issue that began at 7pm. We identified the problem and were working on it. We have been receiving back-to-back calls.”
During the blackout last night EE was trending on Twitter, with #EEoutage and #EELeeds becoming the focal point of customers’ frustrations:
@EE still waiting for the 'no service' to be replaced by a signal bar and EE here in Leeds! Hasn't changed all night! #EEproblems #EE
— Naomi (@njbPR) March 19, 2014
@EE I have been without service for over 12 hours! I highly doubt I will be recompensated, this is ridiculous. This is in the Leeds area.
— shannen johnson (@ShannenJJohnson) March 20, 2014
leeds ee no service!!! Panicking as mum in hospital! Pls hurry up!!!!
— Jayne Barrand (@JayneHurley) March 19, 2014
@EE no service in Leeds. It'd be nice to make a call using my £49 per month contract!
— Ben O'Connell (@oconnellben) March 19, 2014
https://twitter.com/hijinkx_uk/status/446450213642076160