Storm disrupts mobile services for LMT, Tele2 and Bite customers

Storm-related power outages disrupted mobile services for customers of Latvijas Mobilais telefons (LMT), Tele2 Latvia and Bite Latvia on Sunday morning, the companies confirmed to LSM.

LMT said about 3% of its customer connections were affected, mainly in Latgale, Zemgale and eastern Kurzeme. The situation was gradually improving, said Valdis Jalinskis, the company’s public relations head.

Jalinskis said the storm had caused extensive damage across Latvia and widespread electricity supply disruptions. Virtually all LMT base stations have batteries, but batteries cannot be installed everywhere because some stations are located on building roofs with limited space and load-bearing capacity.

LMT employees are working with colleagues from Sadales tīkls and Augstsprieguma tīkls, electricity grid companies, to restore power to base stations as quickly as possible and ensure stable network operations. Diesel generators have been installed at critical network points and additional fuel began being delivered on the morning of August 23. Mobile generators and temporary base stations will also be used if necessary.

Tele2 said power supply problems had affected the operation of its base stations. Its technical department was working around the clock to resolve the disruptions, but fallen trees and flooded areas were making access to many base stations significantly more difficult, the company’s public relations head Oskars Fīrmanis told the LETA news agency.

Tele2 base stations are equipped with backup batteries, and generators have been connected in many places to keep the network operating during power outages. However, network operations also depend largely on how quickly Sadales tīkls employees can restore electricity, as power is critical for mobile communications.