A bug involving US-based telecoms giant CenturyLink briefly interrupted internet service in several global markets, affecting popular streaming services, gaming platforms and webcasts of European soccer, the company and specialized media reported.
“We are able to confirm that all services impacted by today's IP outage have been restored...” the company then announced in a Twitter post. “We sincerely apologize for the impact this outage caused.”
CenturyLink is based in Monroe, Louisiana. It was not immediately clear whether the disruption was related to damage from destructive Hurricane Laura, which passed through Louisiana late last week, causing widespread power outages.
Apps and websites including major streaming service Hulu, as well as the PlayStation network and XBox Live platforms reported disruptions, CNN reported. France's Telefoot soccer network was also affected, interrupting broadcasts of early-afternoon matches, sports journal L'Equipe reported.
Ogero Lebanon was also affected by the outage that has caused internet connection to stop at some of its subscribers. “We have noticed a slowdown and impossibility of access to the global network CenturyLink-Level 3 which has affected part of our subscribers,” read Ogero’s statement.
CloudFlare, a site designed to help keep other sites running during traffic spikes or malicious attacks, was itself affected. CloudFlare's chief technology officer John Graham-Cumming attributed the problem to CenturyLink.
CenturyLink suffered a massive outage in 2018 that affected ATM withdrawals, 911 calls and other services.
