Telcos deny power problems

By Kimberly Guest for Telkom
Johannesburg, 28 Jan 2008

Local telecommunication operations have been unaffected by countrywide electricity load-shedding, according to Telkom, MTN and Vodacom.

The statements follow widespread allegations of poor quality of service on cellular and fixed-line networks during the power outages.

When contacted this morning, the three telcos maintained electricity backups - including uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems and generators - had been installed to deal with such issues.

However, The Notebook Company CEO Christopher Riley last week told ITWeb that attention needed to be given to the amount of time available for recharging battery-operated backup power sources.

All fine

Despite growing concern, the three telcos say there has been no-to-little impact on their networks.

MTN's public relations department issued a statement "reassuring" its customers that its service has not been interrupted.

"Access to all services, including to 3G and GPRS, has not been affected and MTN has no plans to interrupt any services due to load-shedding. To ensure that MTN customers are not affected by power outages, all MTN sites are equipped with UPS with at least eight hours of battery backup. In addition, all switching centres and key sites are equipped with diesel generators," it said.

Vodacom chief communications officer Dot Field similarly notes that all Vodacom's "macro outdoor, as opposed to indoor microcell base station sites", have battery backup.

"Most other key core infrastructure sites - switches, radio controllers and the like - have standby generators and battery backup. In general, base stations' battery backups can last up to eight hours, depending on the frequency of outages in an area and, therefore, the time available to recharge," she explains.

Meanwhile, Telkom acting group executive for corporate communications Nabintu Petsana says the giant's core network has been largely unaffected by the power outages. At this stage, Telkom provides the national backbone for all telecoms operators in SA.

"Telkom's core plant remains largely unaffected by the outages, owing to [our] extensive backup power generation capability. Appropriate contingency measures are also in place to ensure the quality of our service delivery. In particular, Telkom is assisting emergency services, where possible, to ensure uninterrupted service to the country," she explains.

Customer's problem

For now, communication difficulties lie on the customer side, according to Vodacom and Telkom.

Field explains that problems may be encountered with their microcells. This is because microcells - which predominantly supply indoor coverage - do not necessarily have battery backup or are vulnerable to especially long power outages.

Petsana adds that some of Telkom's customers are beginning to feel the impact of the power outages on their telecoms systems.

"Currently, customers experiencing problems are primarily those whose services are dependent on customer premises equipment, such as telephones, modems and PABXs. In these instances, a lack of emergency standby power generation within customer premises is the primary cause of service interruptions," she says.

SA's power problems are expected to continue for the next five to seven years, says Eskom.