Thousands of UK users of EE, Vodafone, and other network providers using their infrastructure reported voice call failures starting around 11 a.m. BST on July 24, 2025. Downdetector showed a sharp spike in outage reports, mainly affecting incoming and outgoing mobile calls, especially between users on different networks. TechRadar’s live coverage traced reports back to early morning, and the issue appears to be across EE, Vodafone, and O2, with BT, Lebara, and other MVNOs also affected due to shared infrastructure
Despite growing customer concern, the carriers have yet to issue full public statements. Vodafone customer support acknowledged “technical issues” and said they are investigating, while EE confirmed they are “escalating this to the relevant team”. Social media posts from users describe messages like “calls not connecting” or “numbers don’t exist.”
This incident has reignited conversations around the resilience of the UK’s telecom infrastructure, particularly the interdependency among major network operators. With many MVNOs piggybacking on core infrastructure from EE, Vodafone, and O2, a single technical fault can cascade across multiple services and providers. Industry experts are calling for better failover systems and more transparent real-time communication from operators when outages occur. As businesses and consumers rely heavily on mobile networks for communication, even short disruptions can create significant inconvenience and economic impact.
Key Takeaways:
- Widespread voice calloutages on major UK networks since 11 a.m. BST.
- Mobile data and messaging appear to be functioning normally.
- Social media is flooded with reports from frustrated users.
- Infrastructure-sharing MVNOs are temporarily disrupted.
- Carriers are aware and working on fixes, but no ETA is provided yet.
