BT network crash caused by software

A software glitch has been blamed for the massive network failure that crippled much of BT's phone system on Friday. BT technicians are currently working with the software supplier to create a patch. A spokesman for BT would not name the company in question or go into specific detail about the problem, although it's hoped this information will be made public later in the week. Although the service was stabilised early Saturday morning, it wasn't until Sunday evening that the root cause of the problem was identified. "We're 99 per cent sure that a software problem was responsible," said a BT spokesman. He also quashed rumours that the failure was due to the network being overloaded because tens of thousands of people phoned a TV show to win a free holiday. "We did have a minor incident a couple of weeks ago when there was an unnotified phone-in on the Richard and Judy show, but that wasn't a problem," he said. Friday's network problem hit major services including NHS Direct, the Samaritans and emergency services. ® Related Story BT struggles to cope with massive network failure