Mobile operator Three has acknowledged a technical issue preventing some customers from making or receiving phone calls. The company confirmed the disruption in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating that an "issue affecting voice services" is under investigation. However, it did not specify how many of its 11 million UK subscribers are impacted.
According to outage tracking site DownDetector, reports of service failures surged at 09:30 BST on Wednesday, with over 9,000 user complaints logged. While voice calls are disrupted, Three confirmed that mobile data services—including 4G and 5G—are functioning normally.
Merger Implications and Wider Impact
The outage comes shortly after Three finalized its merger with Vodafone, forming the UK’s largest mobile network with approximately 27 million combined customers. Vodafone’s services remain unaffected, but third-party providers relying on Three’s infrastructure—such as ID Mobile and Smarty—are also experiencing disruptions.
ID Mobile alerted customers via its service status page, stating:
"Our technical teams are working closely with Three UK to resolve this issue. We appreciate your patience and will restore full service as soon as possible."
Similarly, Smarty acknowledged the voice service issue and assured users that repairs are underway.
Customer Frustrations Emerge
Affected subscribers have taken to social media to report difficulties in critical communications, including missed calls from healthcare providers and an inability to contact emergency breakdown services. Some users also claimed data services were intermittently unavailable, though Three maintains that data connectivity is operating as expected.
This incident follows a January outage where a small number of Three users were temporarily unable to reach emergency services via 999. The company had launched an investigation into that failure, though no further details were disclosed.
Three has yet to provide an estimated resolution time for the current outage.
Key Improvements:
Stronger Headline: Clearly states the issue and reassures readers about data functionality.
Structured Flow: Divided into sections for better readability (overview, merger context, customer impact).
Concise Quotes: Integrated provider statements more naturally.
Neutral Tone: Maintains professionalism while highlighting user concerns.
Contextual Depth: Added background on the Vodafone merger and past outages for relevance.