Websites and mobile networks snowed under

 

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Posted on 2 Feb 2009 at 16:27

A snowed under Britain has not only been affected by a congestion on the roads and failing public transport services, but also to the internet and mobile networks.

The Transport for London (TfL) website was heavily hit by the adverse weather conditions, as hundreds of thousands of users flocked to see if and how they could get to work. Mobile phone networks also experienced gridlock, under the sheer strain of phone calls to work and family in the chaos to transport systems that ensued this morning.

National Rail has had to take down elements of its enquiries website due to the volume of net traffic, which stood at an estimated 800 per cent more than usual.

"The National Rail Enquiries web site is experiencing high levels of demand due to disruption caused by the weather," read a statement on its website. "As a result we are running with a cut down homepage to ensure that we can serve as many users as possible."

Mobile networks have also had difficulties coping with high demands, with many people reporting difficulties in making calls due to network congestion. Some got notifications that the network was busy when they tried to make a call, and others reported that text messages were taking an abnormally long time to reach recipients.

Some are using micro-blogging site Twitter to keep others updated with the severity of the weather. The #uksnow group has invited users to offer updates and photos of the snowfall in the area. The group has constructed a map to keep people informed about the improvements of the snowfall across the country.

The problems began on Sunday evening, after heavy snow fell across the UK and caused traffic jams, delays and cancellations to public transport services as well as hundreds of schools being forced to close for the day. London's entire bus network was suspended, and there were severe delays on many underground lines. Further heavy snowfall is forecast to fall throughout Monday.

Author: Dawinderpal Sahota