A Movistar outage leaves Alaró without communications for 40 hours

PalmThe Alaró Town Council has reported a "serious incident" affecting Telefónica's (Movistar) telephone and internet services, which left virtually the entire municipality without communications for more than 40 consecutive hours. The outage, which began on Friday, November 14, at approximately 5:30 p.m. and lasted until Sunday, November 16, at 9:30 a.m., affected the majority of subscribers and several essential municipal services. The Telefónica infrastructure, which also serves other operators in the municipality, left almost all users without service. According to the Town Council, only two Balearic operators with their own networks were able to maintain normal service. During the outage, the Town Council states that it attempted to contact Telefónica at various times, both by phone and through official channels, to demand explanations and immediate action. Despite identifying itself as the authority responsible for emergency management, they regret not having received an effective response. The City Council has also filed a direct complaint with the operator demanding detailed information about the causes and handling of the outage. The communications disruption had a particular impact on critical services. The Local Police saw their operational capacity limited, and numerous residents were completely isolated. The case of users of the telecare service stands out, as they were disconnected throughout the entire period of the outage, a situation the City Council considers "particularly serious" due to the risk it poses to elderly or dependent individuals. Given the magnitude of the events, the City Council has filed a formal complaint with the Directorate General for Consumer Affairs of the Government of the Balearic Islands and has asked affected residents to file individual claims. It also reminds residents that the Ministry of Digital Transformation is the competent authority to sanction any breaches of Law 9/2014 on Telecommunications, which obliges operators to guarantee the continuity, quality, and security of services. The City Council expects the Ministry to act "rigorously" and impose the corresponding sanctions. Furthermore, it demands that measures be taken to prevent a failure of this magnitude from happening again. The Alaró City Council reiterates its commitment to the safety and rights of its citizens and assures that it will continue to press Telefónica until an adequate service is guaranteed.