Due to massive Russian attacks on power generation facilities across the country, not only problems with light at home, but also with mobile Internet and communications provided by operators have appeared.
At the beginning of July, President Vladimir Zelensky drew attention to the problem, who instructed the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Mikhail Fedorov, to present an analysis of the work of mobile operators.
At the same time, energy workers warn that the light situation in winter will likely be worse than the problems observed with electricity this summer. Accordingly, problems with mobile communications may intensify, the three main operators of which in Ukraine are Lifecell, Vodafone and Kyivstar.
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Why do problems with mobile communications appear along with a power outage, are operators working to ensure the stability of this connection and the Internet, and what to expect in winter — read the material on Facts ICTV.
- Why communications and the Internet disappear with blackouts
- Will the situation with communications and the Internet change during shutdowns
- What operators say
- Will operators be able to provide 10 hours of communication
- What will happen in winter and how to ensure access to the network during blackouts
Why communications and the Internet disappear with blackouts
Mobile users have been complaining for some time that when there is a power outage in a populated area or some area of large cities, according to schedules, there are also interruptions in the mobile Internet.
Operators explain this by the fact that at the moment of a power outage, users’ home Internet is also turned off, which, as a rule, is distributed among residents of apartments or private houses via a Wi-Fi router. Accordingly, mobile devices begin to look for the optimal way to provide residents of a de-energized area with the Internet, switching users to the mobile Internet. At this moment the load is sent to base stations, which provide Ukrainians with mobile communications and the Internet in the blackout area.
What is important is not so much the number of users, but the amount of traffic that they use and passes through the base station. These stations themselves have limited capacity, which affects the deterioration of communication when the load on it sharply increases.
Previously, the director of the department for the development of fixed Internet of the Ministry of Digital Development Yuriy Matsik on the air of the Unified News telethon indicated that the majority of traffic use, namely 80%, with under normal circumstances, there should be a Wi-Fi network, but at the time of a power outage, due to a sharp increase in the load on communication distribution towers, operators are not able to cope with the voltage, and therefore problems arise.
Will the situation with communications and the Internet change during shutdowns
On July 15, 2024, the State Special Communications Service reported that the National Center for Operational and Technical Management of Telecommunication Networks (NCM) updated the requirements for the operation of base stations of mobile operators under martial law.
According to the corresponding requirement, operators must increase access to mobile communications during a power outage from 4 hours to 10 hours.
In parallel with this, by October 1, 2024, at least 60% of operator base stations must be provided with autonomous backup power supply in order to comply with the new standard. By November 1 — 70%, by December 1 — 80%, and by the end of January 2025 — at least 100%.
By December 1, 2024, at least 25% of base stations in each region must be connected to generators with a supply of fuel and lubricants or equipped with a replaceable battery pack for the first 72 hours.
What operators say
The press service of the mobile operator Kyivstar, for example, says that the company has invested more than 1 billion hryvnia since 2022 to ensure energy autonomy of its network, and as of June of this year, 113 thousand new batteries were installed at base stations, which provide up to 4 hours without external power. In addition, 2.3 thousand BS are provided with generators, and 50 thousand uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) are installed in 23 thousand apartment buildings, which should ensure uninterrupted operation of the Home Internet service.
— However, any battery needs time to recharge, namely from 4 to 6 hours depending on the number of batteries installed for maximum charging. To charge the UPS you need 8 hours of uninterrupted operation. Unfortunately, now power outages are unpredictable, both in the number of outages during the day and in duration. Therefore, the batteries do not have time to charge, and with such shutdown schedules, telecom operators and fixed Internet providers cannot always ensure uninterrupted network operation, despite all efforts, — the company explains.
At the same time, Kyivstar says that they are continuing preparations for the winter of 2024-2025 and are making additional purchases of batteries and increasing the fleet of generators. In particular, it attracts generators provided by corporate clients. Already in the fall, the company says, they will be installed on the network.
— However, even despite all the dedication of Kyivstar employees, It is technically impossible to connect all telecom network facilities without exception to autonomous generation. Therefore, in cases where power outages are large and long, the company is forced to prioritize the provision of power to base stations, — explain in the press service of the operator and call on Ukrainians to understand.
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In turn, Vodafone also says that they are constantly working to ensure stable communications and the Internet during power outages, and therefore equip BSs with batteries and provide them with generators, and also update the battery fleet.
At the same time, the company They say that users can reduce this load on their own and give some advice:
- use Wi-Fi running on GPON technology (that is, even without light);
- communicate using text messages or voice calls instead of video and voice messages in instant messengers;
- reduce video quality in YouTube and other applications;
- download multiple videos or a movie to watch in the dark;
- disable automatic media downloads in instant messengers;
- Save important files to view them offline.
— And then — wait for light and use your devices as usual. However, here too, do not forget to save energy and monitor the load on the network. This is more important now than ever, — Vodafone explains.
Will operators be able to provide 10 hours of communication
As the president of the Kyivstar company Alexander Komarov said on the air of the national telethon Edini Novyny, there are objective obstacles on the path to complete energy independence of the mobile network, although in theory this can be done. < /p>
— In theory, this is real, and I think that all parties are now doing everything to achieve this effect. But, of course, there are objective barriers. Our current plan — this is to provide 20% of the network for 6+ hours, the entire network for 4+ hours plus. This is despite the fact that more than 20% of the network is already running on generators, — he says.
At the same time, according to him, the company calculated the time until the end of the first quarter of 2025 to implement these plans .
Alexander Komarov adds that equipment is also affected by heat, so areas with equipment are equipped with air conditioning.
At the same time, in order to ensure the functioning of the stations in the case of 10-hour operation, you need to install either 10 lithium-ferum batteries or 40 lead batteries.
— This is a very big challenge, a logistical challenge. There is often no place to place these batteries. Big challenge — this is an increase in capacity for each site, — he says.
Komarov explains that in addition to the issue of providing a battery, there is also the problem that to ensure the charging of all batteries throughout the country, which hold a charge for 10 hours, more than 0.5 GW is needed for this operation alone.
Considering these circumstances, despite the mobile operator’s movement towards ensuring autonomous communication, it is difficult for the president of Kyivstar to say what the situation will be at the end of 2024.
What will happen in winter and how to ensure access to the network during blackouts
It is now difficult to predict the state of the energy grid in the winter of 2024-2025, since Russia may intensify attacks on power generating facilities. Accordingly, the time of blackouts may increase, and at the same time the ability of mobile operators to provide their stations with energy may decrease.
Despite ensuring the energy independence of their equipment on the part of mobile operators, as indicated in the above companies, the factor of how mobile network users will act during power outages is also important, since both the quality of communication and the speed of mobile Internet depend on the volume of load on the station.
The Ministry of Digital Development advises that Ukrainians should independently take care of the stable operation of the fixed Internet network at home. To do this, Yuriy Matsik explains, you should ask your provider how long he can support the network during a power outage.
Those for whom it is important to have a stable Internet connection should switch to xPON technology, says a representative of the Ministry of Digital Development. Today, according to him, there are about 1.4 thousand providers in Ukraine that offer connection to energy-efficient xPON technology.
ICTV Facts previously reported that one of the ways you can provide yourself with Internet at home is to connect a Wi-Fi router to a power bank. But this option may not be suitable for everyone, and besides, it also depends on the capabilities of the provider.
