I've now spoken to O2 myself. Annoyingly the status page still says there is no fault(s). O2 couldn't give me a time when it would be fixed.
They told my partner, however, it could be up to 31.12.10 before it is fixed! This is not acceptable!
Customer services says there are issues with the "Receiver" for both:
- GSM (i.e. voice and texts)
- GPRS (i.e. 2G data)
If you are lucky enough to own a 3G phone, I have found one can circumvent the issue until it is solved by setting your phone to 3G (or UMTS as it may be on your phone) only.
-r0