Mobile network outage affects lakhs as Hyderabad’s cable clean-up drive intensifies

Hyderabad’s cable clean-up drive has entered a new and disruptive phase. What began with broadband and cable television outages has now spread to mobile services, after fibre-optic cables powering several 5G towers were severed.

The latest disruption has left several residents struggling to make phone calls or use cellular data, compounding weeks of frustration over internet outages.

“When I try calling a number, all I hear is silence for about a minute before the call drops. Even if it goes through, the other person cannot hear me,” said Kritika Reddy, a resident of Ramanthapur.

“My Airtel SIM stopped working at home, so I was forced to buy a new Jio SIM to keep work going, only to realise it doesn’t work in the parallel lane near my house,” she said.

Meanwhile, anger spilled out on social media. “Absolutely no network today. Usually I have at least one (network) bar. Today that’s also not there and haven’t been able to make/receive calls Of all the things, I never thought that mobile network would be a problem in Hyderabad,” an X user wrote.

Industry sources revealed hundreds of mobile towers, including over 125 belonging to Airtel alone, are down since Friday morning, crippling connectivity in Banjara Hills, Madhapur, Financial District, Kukatpally, Kondapur, Manikonda, Secunderabad, Kompally, Bollaram, Shamirpet, Nagole and Ramanthapur.

“For Airtel alone, over 4.5 lakh broadband customers were already affected. Now with mobile services disrupted, another 3.7 lakh are hit, taking complaints past the 10-lakh mark,” said a source close to the matter, requesting anonymity.

Many of the city’s mobile towers rely on fibre optic connections for high-speed (5G) data and voice services. “In areas where underground cabling is not available, overhead fibre lines link mobile towers. With the electricity department cutting those overhead cables, many of these links have been severed, pushing several towers offline and triggering widespread mobility service disruptions,” the source explained.

Impact on hospitals

The impact has spread across sectors like hospitals and IT companies. Some telecom companies accused the Electricity Department of continuing the indiscriminate cutting despite court orders.

Officials of the Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company (TGSPDCL) insist they are simply following orders. “We have given demarcation of 18 feet for cables on poles and 20 feet for overhead cables across roads. As per the instructions, the cutting exercise is being intensified across GHMC limits from Friday,” said Subba Rao Karreddula, Divisional Engineer of Operations in Habsiguda.

The Federation of Aerial Cable Operators (FACO) estimates that between 70-80 lakh broadband and cable subscribers across 20 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Hyderabad are affected.

“Even the Secretariat, the Chief Minister’s residence, RTO offices and land registration departments are facing outages,” said FACO president Satish Babu. He added that fibre replacement losses alone stand at ₹10–12 crore.

Following protests across Hyderabad on Thursday, cable operators are now set to stage another protest in Indira Park on Saturday, with over 20,000 representatives.