Virgin Mobile's UAE services back up after weekend of disruption

Telecoms company says problems caused by a 'technical issue'

People using the Virgin Mobile network in the UAE were unable to access the internet and make calls on Saturday afternoon. Christopher Pike / The National

Normal service was resumed on Sunday for Virgin Mobile customers who had been unable to use data or make phone calls at the weekend.

A number of users reported problems accessing the internet and making online payments via digital wallets, with some saying they had been unable to make important calls because of the service interruption.

Virgin said the disruption was caused by a “technical issue” but issued a statement saying the network was back up and running on Sunday.

Responding to several tweets by disgruntled users, the company informed users that the issue had been resolved early in the afternoon.

“Unfortunately we had faced a technical issue, this has been fixed now, we apologise for the inconvenience caused,” it said in a tweet.

Virgin users across the country complained it was the second time in a week they had faced the same issues.

Shortly before 5pm on Saturday, Twitter user @T9M85 tagged the company in a post.

"@VirginMobileUAE this is the 2nd time this week your network has been down,” she said.

“I was out and stuck for 30 [minutes] without the ability to order a taxi.

“I can’t access the app to reload my wallet for my renewal at midnight. This is ridiculous. What is going on?”

Another user said she had broken down by the side of the road with no way to contact emergency services.

“Wondering what’s happening with @VirginMobileUAE as I sat at the side of the road with no connection to get help,” said @irenespots.

“Patchy all week but this was a disaster for me.

“It’s just too late for me. Being stranded with a burst tyre and no connection was terrifying.”

A third user, @zhiping, wrote: “Your whole network is down for the [second] time in days without any announcement when the service will be back up,” he said, tagging the UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.