American travelers in Europe face phone outage

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

Social media was buzzing with frustrated travellers from Great Britain to Türkiye, 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 acknowledged the problem:

• AT&T says its 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 this.
• Verizon informed customers on social media that its teams are working with local providers to resolve the issue.
• T-Mobile also confirmed that it is affected by the third-party vendor issue and is working on a fix.

Travelers had to face inconveniences and some concerns:

• 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 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.
• When available, you can also use public Wi-Fi networks.

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