ISLAMABAD: Telecom customers faced serious issues on Monday, as telecom services, including mobile and internet disrupted across the country due to a nationwide power outage. Telecom industry officials said that their networks are running on backup power supply since the electricity breakdown early in the morning on Monday. With continued outage in different parts of the country, it was getting more challenging to keep the network up and running.

They further said that backup power and fuel were limited to a certain timeframe and not for prolonged outages. Logistically managing and refueling a large number of sites simultaneously was also a challenge in such situation.

There are also health and safety considerations for the field teams, particularly, in hard terrains that the telecom companies have to prioritise, they added.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Comp-any Limited (PTCL) from its Twitter account stated: “Dear customers, due to ongoing power breakdown in the country, you may face degradation in PTCL services. Once the power is restored, you will be able to enjoy uninterrupted PTCL services again.”

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a statement saying that due to countrywide power outage, users may face service disruptions. Cellular mobile operators have been instructed to inform their respective subscribers accordingly and to make optimal efforts for refueling of the generator sets on maximum number of sites.

The PTA is working with operators to provide uninterrupted services across the country, the authority added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023