Mobile phone directory downed by technical glitches

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 13 Jul 2009 at 08:16

A controversial new directory of mobile phone numbers has been yanked offline due to technical faults.

A notice sent out late on Friday claimed the service would be temporarily suspended to deal with unspecified "technical issues".

"The high number of queries 118 800 has received since launching have highlighted some technical glitches in the system," the notice stated.

"To ensure 118 800 provides faultless customer service the decision has been made to temporarily suspend the service allowing for technical work to be completed."

As of 8am on Monday morning, the service was still down, with the homepage merely claiming that "we'll be back as soon as possible with the new improved service".

The service has been mired in controversy since its launch last week, with many people upset that their mobile phone number has been entered into the directory.

Connectivity, the company behind 118 800, reportedly acquired 15 million mobile phone numbers from list brokers, market research firms and other businesses that harvest personal data.

The Information Commissioner warned the company that it shouldn't be using any numbers where there is any doubt that the customer is happy for their details to be published.

Connectivity claims that all requests to be made ex-directory on the service will still be processed, despite the technical hiatus.

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