Friday, August 18, 2006
ONO Clients Left Without Internet Connection
A problem with the DNS server at Internet Service Provider, ONO, left customers in the Canary Islands without Internet connections for more than 10 hours yesterday, report Diario de Avisos. In Santa Cruz, users began to notice that they were unable to connect to the network at around 9 a.m. yesterday morning and the situation continued until around 8 p.m. in the evening.
The server breakdown affected the whole of the Canary Island archipelago, where ONO have an estimated 50,000 customers, among them both private individuals and businesses. The the report makes a point of stating that ONO did not distribute one single notice to explain the problem and that the lack of information was what infuriated the affected users most of all.
Users also complained about the impossibility of connecting to the company's help line and those who were able to call in the morning, were told that the problem would be fixed by 7 p.m. At that time, operators began giving out new DNS numbers so Canary Islands users could connect via an alternative server.
By coincidence, a problem with servers at Telefónica left thousands of DSL customers on the Spanish mainland without internet connections or access to the Imagenio TV platform on Tuesday. Various consumers associations and users have asked the Ministry of Industry to intervene to clarify the causes.
These are, by far, not the only complaints of this type. My previous ISP, who shall remain nameless, managed to leave me for days without a connection, all too frequently. A fact reflected in the large number of complaints registered about them with consumers associations and that can be read all over the net.
In itself, yesterday's event probably does not seem like news, except that the press have considered it important enough to be treated as such.
Personally, I think it reflects changes in the culture that have been occurring lately in Spain and that are most noticeable on these islands. Efficiency was never a word one would associate with anything here (except maybe fiesta organizing) and, for the most part, it seemed as if everyone was quite content to wait, tranquillo, for whatever to pass or for it to be fixed in the "fullness of time".
As a foreigner, used to things getting done in other countries, if one was ever daft enough to show frustration or attempt to get wheels in motion, one would be met with a retort, that one is NOT in England now. And, we've been stuck with putting up with it, because any attempt to push anything has been met with a digging in of heels that merely prolongs the agony instead of expediting a solution.
It looks to me as if those days are now over, for better and for worse (there are advantages to the tranquillo attitude, like less stress), if Canarians themselves are now demanding the sort of service that the "civilized" world has long expected.
This seems to be a good progress in the direction of improvement of life, but mark my words, there will be a price to pay to move into the 21st Century.
Una avería deja sin Internet a los clientes de ONO en Canarias
