Mobile network operators are speeding up efforts to resolve signal loss issues following Typhoon No. 10.
Nearly two days after Typhoon No. 10 made landfall, many areas in Nghe An province are still completely without mobile phone signal, making communication difficult.
For nearly two days now, since Typhoon No. 10 made landfall, many people in Nghe An have reported losing mobile phone signal. “After the storm, I was very worried about my relatives back home, so I called them on the morning of September 29th but couldn’t get through. After that, I made dozens of calls to other subscribers and they all had the same problem,” said Ms. Hoang Thu Hang (36 years old, Truong Vinh Ward, Nghe An).
It wasn't until noon on September 30th, after hundreds of calls, that Ms. Hang finally managed to contact her relatives in the former Do Luong district. "However, the call was intermittent, with bits and pieces of the conversation catching only occasionally. But at least I know my relatives are safe," Ms. Hang added.
Many other people in Vinh City also reported that their phones completely lost signal since Typhoon No. 10 made landfall. Their phones only displayed "emergency call".
Due to the loss of signal, many people had to buy SIM cards from other telecommunication networks to use. This situation wasn't limited to the old Vinh city area; many highland communes also experienced similar problems, with widespread signal loss. "This morning I had to ride my motorbike more than 10km to another commune just to get a mobile phone signal to make a work report," said an official from Yen Na commune (formerly Tuong Duong district).
According to a representative from the Department of Science and Technology, due to the impact of Typhoon No. 10, many telecommunication stations in Nghe An suffered landslides and roof damage, mainly belonging to the two core network operators, VNPT and Viettel. Specifically, Viettel had 20 trunk cables and 130 branch cables experiencing transmission problems, while VNPT had 17 trunk cables and 23 branch cables affected.
“Immediately after the storm, about 25% of areas in Nghe An lost signal, but by 3 PM on September 30th, after many efforts to restore service, many areas that had lost signal were back online,” a representative of VNPT Nghe An said, adding that before the storm, the unit mobilized 100% of its workforce, with nearly 1,000 officers and employees, to be ready to respond. After the storm hit, the corporation also reinforced its workforce with an additional 300 personnel from other provinces to support Nghe An in quickly resolving the issues.
This telecommunications company also stated that the group is providing mobile vehicles and field stations to support coverage in areas experiencing signal outages. They are also supplementing over 400 km of various types of fiber optic cables and 600 km of subscriber lines to support customer service. They are transferring 200 backup batteries to network nodes and supplementing backup fuel to ensure station operation for 3-5 days. Additionally, they are deploying 50 MFDs (Mobile Distribution Frames) to provide emergency support at critical network nodes. Roaming services have been implemented for other network operators in Nghe An province.
A representative from Viettel Nghe An stated that during the storm, Viettel's personnel were activated at the highest emergency level, deploying the "4-on-the-spot" method to be ready to respond to any incidents, with particular priority given to ensuring connectivity for the Nghe An Provincial Forward Command Center and the headquarters of commune governments, serving the direction of disaster response.
Immediately after the storm weakened, Viettel deployed hundreds of additional personnel from various provinces and cities to provide support in promptly addressing the issues and ensuring communication for customers. Currently, Viettel Nghe An has mobilized over 1,000 personnel, 150 vehicles, 150 generators, 600 portable batteries, 3 mobile units, 3 satellite phones, and 14 X-transmission devices to respond to Typhoon No. 10. Simultaneously, Viettel is applying AI to monitoring and operations, ensuring seamless communication from command to direct personnel, thus reducing the time needed to resolve problems.
In addition, Viettel also added 20,000 VND to the accounts of over 30,000 customers in isolated and cut-off areas to ensure communication was maintained. Simultaneously, the network applied a 20% discount for customers topping up their accounts in provinces affected by the storm and postponed one-way blocking for postpaid subscribers to ensure communication. Viettel's customer service system also had additional staff to receive incident reports and provide 24/7 customer support.
"If there are still connection interruptions in some areas, we kindly ask for your understanding. Viettel is working tirelessly to resolve the issue as quickly as possible for our customers," said a representative from Viettel Nghe An.
Speaking about the difficulties in repairing telecommunications infrastructure, the head of the Department of Science and Technology said that due to the continued rise in floodwaters, which have cut off National Highway 7 and National Highway 48, it is difficult to access the affected areas for restoration. Fallen trees have caused cable breaks and telecommunications poles to collapse, requiring a large amount of work to restore.
“Telecommunications businesses are deploying 100% of their personnel, including support forces from provinces, to urgently respond to incidents, supply fuel to telecommunication stations; and organize the restoration of fiber optic cables (prioritizing trunk cables). At the same time, they are urgently deploying satellite navigation systems (Viettel) to areas cut off (formerly Thanh Chuong and Tuong Duong districts) to ensure communication for command and control,” said a leader of the Department of Science and Technology, adding that the unit has also requested the Department of Industry and Trade to direct Nghe An Power Company to prioritize power supply to areas with telecommunication stations, especially in densely populated areas. The power stations were proactively shut down before the storm and are now unaffected; power should be restored soon. Local authorities, while clearing trees and debris, are requested to educate the public to minimize the risk of cutting cables on roads, which could disrupt communication. Simultaneously, telecommunication businesses are requested to cooperate in sharing infrastructure and materials; Provide manpower support to optimize disaster relief efforts.