Europe, this winter, may experience less use of mobile phones if power cuts or energy rationing disrupt mobile phones in various parts of the continent.
Europe is reeling under power shortages as Russia has put a barrier on gas supplies to European countries in the wake of the Ukraine conflict. The situation is even worse in France, where maintenance has caused the shutdown of many nuclear power units.
Officials of the telecom industry fear that a harsh winter will pose problems for Europe’s telecoms infrastructure and that this will force companies and governments to take serious steps.
The fear might become real, as presently there are not enough reserve systems in various European countries to manage huge power cuts. Some telecoms executives also said that this could increase the possibility of mobile phone outages.
Major European Union countries like France, Sweden, and Germany are working hard to make preparations to prevent backup batteries, installed on the thousands of cellular antennas, from exhausting due to power cuts.
Nearly 500,000 telecoms towers may be found in Europe, and the majority of them have battery backups that can power the mobile antennae for about 30 minutes.
France
To battle the situation in France, Enedis, an electricity distributor and a unit of state-controlled utility EDF, has introduced a plan which includes two hours of power cuts in a worst-case scenario. These blackouts will occur on a rotating basis in parts of the country. However, essential services such as hospitals, police, and government will remain unaffected.
Talks have been held by the French government, telecom operators, and Enedis on the issue over the summer.
Sweden, Germany And Italy
According to multiple sources, telcos in Sweden and Germany have also expressed concerns about potential electricity shortages to their governments.
The Swedish telecom regulator PTS stated that it is collaborating with telecom companies and other governmental organizations to identify answers. This contains discussions of what would occur if electricity were rationed.
Nokia and Ericsson, two telecom equipment manufacturers, have also taken steps with mobile operators to mitigate the effects of a power outage.
According to telecom executives, European telecom operators must review their networks to reduce extra power usage and transform their equipment by using more power-efficient radio designs.
