American travelers in Europe face phone outage

US mobile carriers AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile suffered an outage that affected travelers in Europe. Many vacationers have lost access to essential phone functions such as data, calls and texts.

Social media is full of frustrated travelers from Great Britain to Turkey, unable to connect for up to 24 hours. The cause of the outage is unclear, but it appears to be related to an issue with a third-party provider used for international roaming.

Carriers have recognized the problem:

• AT&T says their network is operating normally, but some international customers may experience outages due to an external issue. They are working with a roaming partner to resolve the issue.
• Verizon informed customers on social media that their teams are working with local vendors to resolve the issue.
• T-Mobile confirmed that it is also affected by the third-party vendor issue and is working on a fix.

Travelers had to face some inconveniences and worries:

• George Lagos, a tourist in Greece, was unable to contact his planned contacts for a day, but fortunately managed to get back in touch before any serious problems arose.
• Even more worryingly, Mr Lagos’ wife was unable to contact the caretaker due to the outage, highlighting the potential impact on critical communications.

There are alternative connection options:

• For phones with removable SIM cards, switching to a local SIM (available on prepaid plans) may restore service.
• Newer phones can use apps like Airalo to purchase affordable eSIM data plans for various destinations.
• If available, public Wi-Fi networks can also be used.

The disruption appears to be improving, but these tips offer helpful solutions for travelers who face similar issues in the future.