Netvision Customers Suffer 5-day Email Outage; Cellcom Promises Restoration but Complaints Mount

Thousands of Netvision customers have been left frustrated and unable to send or receive emails for the past five days. Cellcom, the company that owns Netvision, has informed its customers that the process of restoring emails is underway, but complaints about continued disruptions and lack of transparency are on the rise.

Some customers report significant business damage, while others express their dissatisfaction with the slow response from technical support and inadequate compensation for the mental anguish caused by the prolonged outage.

One of the affected customers is Prof. Michael Schechter, a senior cardiologist at Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital, who holds a Netvision business account. Despite paying NIS 90 per month for an email service with a volume of 1 tera, he has been unable to access his emails since the early hours of last Friday when Netvision's email servers went down. He recounts that Cellcom did not communicate the issue or provide any information about when it would be resolved, leaving him initially thinking the problem was isolated to his account. Prof. Schechter made numerous calls to technical support, only to receive vague explanations and no estimated timeframe for the servers' repair.

According to Cellcom's explanation, the root cause of the problem lies with one of Netvision's suppliers, Hitachi. Specifically, part of the Hitachi Shantvision storage system experienced a malfunction. Engineering teams from Hitachi in Japan and Cellcom in Israel are currently collaborating to restore the system.

Cellcom acknowledges the inconvenience faced by its customers and claims that emails are gradually increasing in activity, with some customers already regaining access to their accounts. However, the company emphasizes that the restoration process will take time. Despite the apology, customers are expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of clear communication and prompt resolution.

As the situation unfolds, Cellcom faces mounting pressure to address the complaints and compensate customers for the disruption caused. The extent of the business damage to affected users is yet to be fully assessed. In the meantime, Netvision's reputation and customer trust hang in the balance until the email services are fully restored and steps are taken to prevent such incidents in the future.