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Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has said at least 14.8 per cent of mobile towers in 12 districts have gone out of order amid the ongoing flood situation.
The BTRC said that 10,443 of 12,250 sites or towers in 12 flood-affected districts were working fine as of 9am on Friday, but a total of 1,807 towers were out of order.
More than 90 per cent of mobile towers in Feni were not working, said BTRC Engineering and Operations Director General Brig Gen Kazi Mostafizur Rahman. Feni has seen the worst of the floods, disrupting service from 590 of 656 towers.
In addition, 380 site or towers in Noakhali, 54 in Lakshmipur, 533 in Cumilla, 23 in Brahmanbaria, 47 in Chandpur, 75 in Chattogram, 36 in Khagrachhari, 2 in Habiganj, 39 in Moulvibazar, 11 in Sunamganj, and 17 in Rangamati were out of order.
The tower areas in all flood-affected regions were submerged, the mobile operators said. The towers do not have the power connections and the necessary technical equipment cannot be sent to them due to the strong current in the floodwaters. Hence, the operators cannot restore the mobile phone network until the current eases, operators said.
The BTRC said it was coordinating with concerned authorities to get uninterrupted power supply to keep the mobile towers working. It also ordered the mobile operators to keep the towers working using battery back-ups, diesel generators or portable generators.
BTRC CONTROL ROOM
The BTRC said it has opened a control room to ensure uninterrupted telecommunications service amid the floods.
Under the current circumstances, an emergency response team of 15 has been formed, it said. The team will work at the control room during and after the disaster.
The contact number for the BTRC Emergency Response Team is +8802222217152. People can also contact them by calling the BTRC call centre at 100.