BT suffers major broadband outage

BT has confirmed that a "power failure" at a major exchange in Birmingham is causing problems for broadband customers across the UK. Problems have been reported from as far afield as Belfast, Edinburgh, Swansea and London. Many users have taken to Twitter to complain that the company is not answering its helpline. BT said it was working hard to get information to customers about when service would be restored. The first reports of lost connections began to appear at around 13:00 BST. By 15:00 BST many customers on consumer packages reported being able to gain access, but BT has said customers using their business services are still experiencing severe problems. In a statement, the company said: "We can confirm that, as a result of a power failure at one of our major exchanges, some customers may currently be experiencing loss of broadband service. "Our engineers are on-site and the majority of customers' service has already been restored. We are working to restore service to remaining customers as soon as possible this afternoon. "Should any customers continue to experience difficulty in accessing their broadband service, they are advised to turn their Hub or modem off and on again." Many businesses have contacted the BBC to vent their frustration at the service, suggesting today's problems have affected revenues. Daniel Morris, in London, said: "Really frustrating for a small business as we are so reliant on the internet. "Best thing was the BT helpline advising customers to logon to bt.com if they can't get through on the phone - not easy logging in without internet!" Greg Gillies, director of IT support company Pond Group, added: "We were unable, along with the rest of the country, to get hold of BT for confirmation and had to rely on Twitter for unconfirmed updates." In response, BT has said they have received a "large number of calls" and was doing its best to answer queries using social media and other methods. "We have been doing our very best to keep customers informed," the spokesperson added.