2023-11-03 16:24:47
Published on Nov. 3, 2023 at 5:13 p.m. Updated on Nov. 3, 2023 at 5:24 p.m.
Telephone calls that do not go through, Wi-Fi connection unavailable: storm Ciaran which has shaken the west of France since Thursday has seriously disrupted telecoms networks. So much so that on Friday followingnoon, more than 1.5 million French people were still without Internet or telephone access, according to the first consolidated report from the French Telecoms Federation, the organization which represents operators like Orange, SFR and Bouygues (Free is not formally part of them).
In detail, mobile networks were the most affected, with 1.2 million customers no longer able to make calls, send text messages or surf on 4G-5G. Furthermore, around 420,000 customers are deprived of fixed Internet (ADSL or fiber). The cuts are concentrated in Brittany, Normandy, Vendée, as well as in the Somme. At this stage, the industry has not yet quantified the economic cost of the storm, which overall might cost insurers up to 480 million euros, according to estimates from Risk Weather Tech.
Power cuts
The disruptions are mainly due to power cuts. Fixed and mobile networks indeed contain so-called “active” equipment which must be connected to the electrical network to function. Added to this is the damage caused by strong winds to the telecoms infrastructures themselves (pylons fallen to the ground, etc.)
Storm Ciaran: more than 1 million people are without mobile network.
Thanks to the operators @FFTelecoms @free mobilized, in connection with @Enedisso that the restoration of power is accompanied by a rapid resumption of telecommunications.
— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) November 2, 2023
In the meantime, operators are encouraging customers who still have electricity at home to switch their mobile calls to home Wi-Fi by activating this functionality on their smartphone. For others, “services will become accessible once more as the electricity network is restored” by Enedis, explains the Telecoms Federation.
For operators, the crisis is all the more difficult to manage as they cannot intervene on the electricity network themselves. Reinforced safety rules also apply: no intervention at height given violent winds, traffic constraints linked to falling trees, etc.
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