Phone & internetES
Phone & internet · Spain
Checked 2026-10-14

📵 My phone or internet is down: do I get compensation in Spain?

The short answer

If your phone or internet service is interrupted for reasons that are not your fault, your operator must compensate you, automatically on your next bill once the legal thresholds are met; you do not need to ask (arts. 15 and 16 Real Decreto 899/2009).

When your line is down, your provider has to repair it. In some countries you get compensation if a fault is not fixed in time; what applies in Spain, and what it means for emergency calls, is below.

Official source: usuariosteleco.digital.gob.es · Checked 2026-10-14

📜 The rules in Spain

Compensation

Phone: the higher of your average bill for the affected services over the previous three months or five times the monthly fee, pro rata to the outage; automatic above €1. Internet: fixed fees refunded pro rata, automatically when the outage exceeds six hours between 8:00 and 22:00.

Emergency calls

Calls to the 112 emergency number are free from any phone and need no means of payment; operators must route them free of charge and pass your location to the emergency services (art. 74 Ley 11/2022).

The details

  • Phone outage due to force majeure: compensation is limited to refunding the fixed fees pro rata to the length of the interruption. (usuariosteleco.digital.gob.es)
  • Bundles: if the operator does not state which part of the price is for each service, each counts in proportion to its stand-alone price; if not sold separately, internet counts as 50% of the total. (usuariosteleco.digital.gob.es)
  • Mobile: you count as affected if the operator's systems place you in the area, if the outage hit the area of your contract address and you cannot be placed elsewhere, or if you declare within 10 days of restoration that you were there. (boe.es)
  • No compensation if you seriously breached the contract, for example through fraud or late payment, or if non-approved equipment you connected damaged the network. Not compensated? Complain to the operator, then to the Oficina. (usuariosteleco.digital.gob.es)

Oficina de Atención al Usuario de Telecomunicaciones

If your operator has not compensated you for an interruption and its answer does not satisfy you, you can complain to the Oficina.

📞 91 945 89 74🔗 usuariosteleco.digital.gob.es
Official source: usuariosteleco.digital.gob.es · Checked 2026-10-14

🪜 Step by step

  1. Report the fault right awayCall or use the provider’s fault service, and note the date, time and reference number.
  2. Keep a recordWrite down how long the service is down and what you could not do.
  3. Ask for compensation or a refundIf the fault is not fixed in time, ask in writing for the compensation or price reduction that applies.
  4. Escalate if neededIf the provider refuses, complain in writing and then go to the dispute body.

📇 Who to contact

Oficina de Atención al Usuario de TelecomunicacionesIf your operator has not compensated you for an interruption and its answer does not satisfy you, you can complain to the Oficina.📞 91 945 89 74🔗 usuariosteleco.digital.gob.es/reclamaciones/telefonia-e-internet
Ministerio para la Transformación Digital y de la Función Pública (Secretaría de Estado de Telecomunicaciones e Infraestructuras Digitales)Supervises phone and internet providers and explains your rightsFor information, and to report a provider that breaks the rules📞 91 945 89 74🔗 usuariosteleco.digital.gob.es/derechos-usuario

❓ Questions

Can I still call emergency services during an outage?

Emergency calls from a mobile phone usually go through any available network. If your phone cannot connect, ask someone nearby to call.

Is a short outage compensated?

Usually only longer faults or missed repair appointments are. The rule for Spain, if there is one, is on this page.

What if the faults keep coming back?

Repeated faults can give you the right to a lower price or to end the contract. Ask the regulator or the dispute body.

📎 Sources

Checked: 2026-10-14

🧭 Is this still correct?

We check this information carefully, but phone numbers, websites and rules change — and sometimes we get something wrong. Spotted a mistake or a change? Let us know below.

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