Europe prepares for phone service outages in winter energy shortages

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The energy crisis, which could affect many of the continent’s cellular networks, could put cell phones out of service in Europe this winter.

A sharp cut in Russia’s gas supply to Europe over the Ukraine conflict has led to specters of blackouts, causing panic in Europe’s telecommunications industry, Reuters reported. Infrastructure under stress.

European Union utilities and government officials are trying to mitigate the impact of such disasters.

Telco executives say there are currently not enough backup systems to handle widespread power shortages across the continent, which will likely lead to cell phone outages. Reuters.

Most European countries do not have generators for long-term power backup.

EU states are developing plans to continue telecommunications even if backup battery systems installed throughout the region are overloaded by a lack of power.

France is grappling with the major issue of shutting down multiple nuclear power plants for maintenance over the next few months and is looking to take the lead on the issue.

Reuters reported that telecom operators and French utility Enedis have been discussing the issue over the summer.

Enedis told Reuters that all patrons would be treated equally in the event of a severe blackout.

The French utility said it was able to separate parts of its grid to supply key customers such as hospitals, strategic industries and the military.

Company officials said it was up to local governments to put telecommunications infrastructure on the priority list of causes of outages.

The French Telecommunications Union (FFT), the telecommunications association representing the SFR of the telephone companies Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Altice, has held Enedis responsible for not exempting mobile phone tower antennas from blackouts.

About 62,000 mobile towers are in operation in France, but the industry does not have the resources to equip every antenna with new backup batteries, FFT president Liza Bellulo told Reuters.

European telecommunications crisis

Meanwhile, in the UK, telecommunications company BT Group recently financial times I didn’t need additional backup power during the winter, but was evaluating if I could switch off non-critical systems to save energy.

European telecom executives told Reuters they were overhauling their networks to cut excess power usage and modernize equipment with energy-efficient cell towers.

Phone utilities install new software to optimize traffic flow, put cell towers to “sleep” when not in use, and make available different spectrum bands.

They said they will work with government agencies to ensure that backup plans are fully operational to maintain critical services in time for the winter.

Telecom companies in the three countries said they are coordinating with government authorities in case power shortages persist.

Sweden’s telecoms regulator PTS is funding the purchase of portable fuel stations and mobile base stations to deal with longer blackouts, while Germany’s Deutsche Telekom has a diesel-powered mobile emergency backup in case of prolonged blackouts. use the system.

Italian telecommunications companies hope Italy’s new government will waive energy-saving cuts during mandatory electricity distribution.

European handset makers Nokia and Ericsson told Reuters they were working with mobile network operators to mitigate the impact of potential power shortages.

Brian Jung

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Bryan S. Jung is a New York City resident with a background in politics and the legal industry. He graduated from Binghamton University.

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