Tens of thousands of Sky and Virgin Media broadband customers have been left without internet access after as a massive outage struck the UK on Thursday.
The issue affects at least 69 towns and cities in the South East, starting at around 11.30pm last night, and looks set to continue well into the afternoon.
Both companies said the problem was being caused bu a "fibre cable break" and repairs are underway.
A spokesperson for Sky said: "Engineers continue to work hard but due to a significant break, the fix is taking longer than hoped.
"We expect to have the issue fixed within four hours. Apologies again for the inconvenience caused."
That would mean the outage is set to continue until 4pm.
Virgin Media said the cause was a 'fibre-cable' break but claimed it was not a 'widespread outage' - despite thousands of individuals and businesses being affected.
A spokeswoman for the company said: "We are aware of an issue affecting services for customers in Southampton and some surrounding areas. We are working to fix the issue as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience."
Worse, because broadband is currently down in 69 towns and cities across Hampshire and Dorset a Sky spokesperson said there would be an increase in 4G usage that "may also affect mobile data speeds".
"If you're still without your Sky Broadband and Talk services after 24 hours then we can make sure your bill is credited for the loss of service," Sky said on Twitter .
And it's fair to say customers are unimpressed.
Virgin customer Michael Darracott, from Bournemouth, said: "What's going on, I'm in Bournemouth and my internet is down again since midnight last night? I need this, I'm a disabled person.
"I pay a lot for this and I think it's time a lot of us users should get together and bring a case. I'm at the point like many of considering another service.
"You get no compensation, your phone in lines are over subscribed and the service is below disgraceful."
Liz Havlin, from Southampton, Tweeted: "@virginmedia service down again. Been up and down in SO19 since January.
"Your website has 'oops broken link' on the service status page. Cannot get any work done. Very tired of paying a lot of money for such poor service."
