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Congestion disrupts mobile networks amid UK blasts LONDON (Reuters) - A series of blasts disrupted communications across London on Thursday, but the British government has not used powers to take over cell phone networks, mobile operators said. Explosions hit the underground rail network and buses during rush hour on Thursday, in a scene reminiscent of the Madrid train bombings in March 2004 where explosives were triggered in trains using mobile phones. Authorities shut down the transport network, leaving thousands of people stranded and desperate to use their mobile phones. But mobile users in many parts of London, many of them anxious to know the fate of friends, relatives and employees, found themselves unable to make or receive calls or send text messages. Networks found it tough to cope with the surge in call volumes, although operators said heavy congestion meant that making and receiving calls required several attempts. A spokesman for Orange, Britain's number one mobile operator, said it had not been asked by the government to suspend access to its network, although provisions exist for authorities to take control in case of emergencies. "What we can do, but have not done at this stage is limit access. And we can do just so that emergency services only will have access. We haven't actually done that," a spokeswoman for Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said. Operators said they were boosting capacity to enable their networks to handle the surge in calls. O2 (OOM.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it had doubled its network capacity, while Vodafone said it had also boosted capacity and had freed up channels for use by emergency services. Britain's top fixed-line operator BT Group Plc (BT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said its network was coping with severe congestion. "The fixed line infrastructure is unharmed, however due to the sheer volume of calls the network is experiencing some congestion problems. It will take a little longer than usual for customer calls to get through," BT said in a statement. News Sourcehttp://www.microsite.reuters.com
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