Singtel mobile connectivity restored after service outage

SINGAPORE: Mobile connectivity has been restored for Singtel customers after a service outage, said the telco on Tuesday (Nov 18) evening. 

Some Singtel mobile customers began experiencing an outage on Tuesday afternoon, with the first reports recorded from about 3pm.

The number of reports rose to more than 1,700 at its peak around 4.50pm, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources including users.

"We are aware that some customers experienced momentary intermittent mobile connectivity," said Singtel in response to CNA's queries on Tuesday.

"Customers are advised to power their devices off and on to resume connectivity. We apologise for the inconvenience caused."

Users shared their frustration on various social media platforms, with many saying that they had difficulties making calls and using their mobile data.

A Reddit user posted that his mobile data had stopped working and that he had to use wifi at a Starbucks outlet to check if Singtel was facing an outage.

Another person said on Facebook that he was unable to make calls on his phone, but that cellular data was working fine.

"The network is completely down and no calls are going through," said a customer on X.

Singtel said in a Facebook post just after 7pm that its engineers were actively working to restore service, adding that connectivity was returning progressively.

In an update at about 10pm, it said that mobile connectivity was restored and services were operating normally. 

Last year, an hours-long Singtel landline outage disrupted calls to emergency services, healthcare institutions, banks and businesses. The cause was a "technical issue" of a network component and a backup system did not kick in as intended.

The authorities had advised people who had trouble reaching them at 995 or 999 to SMS them instead.