Recently, you might have noticed your 3G/4G data speeds drop noticeably whenever there’s a power cut. In case you’re wondering, no you’re not imagining it. Amidst the many things that are hindered due to the power cuts, you can now add include local telecommunications to the list.
The electricity problem
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Sri Lanka had a national electricity crisis. In fact, the island’s electricity woes have been years in the making. As this WatchDog report points out, the CEB is an underfunded state enterprise and is one that has failed to reach profitability with the lacking number of efficient power stations. The situation worsened as the government spending on fuel imports dropped drastically. The end result is that the CEB is unable to cater to the demand. Additionally, the report reads that the CEB itself has failed to do its fair share of due diligence and forecasting around power/fuel demands for years. The Norochcholai power plant failure in 2021 is one example.
Either way, all of this has compounded to the point where Sri Lankans can’t even get on a 4G internet connection, let alone look to revive a crippling economy today. It’s an ironic situation considering the current administration’s ambitious (misguided) Digital Sri Lanka plans. Yet, today the country is unable to provide neither uninterrupted electricity nor internet.
Why is my internet slow during power cuts?
Cell towers are typically equipped with a diesel-powered backup generator and/or a battery bank. According to Hutch CEO Thirukumar Nadarasa, these are capable of keeping the power running for around 4 – 6 hours. These battery banks aren’t meant for exhaustively long hours of power cuts. So the battery banks would run out after a while. But towers housed with generators will keep running. As some of the sites go down, the traffic gets picked up by adjacent sites that are running. This means the operational towers will be congested. Hence, the slower speeds.
With Sri Lanka experiencing 10-hour and now 13-hour power cuts, there’s a real danger that the situation could get worse for Sri Lankan internet. Generally, most sites are housed with battery banks and only the critical hubs are equipped with generators. This means that “the majority of the sites will run out of backup power and shut down if power cuts last longer than 4 to 6 hours,” says Thirukumar.
So what can be done?
Sadly, the operators are as helpless as you are. The issue comes down to the fuel problem. Until the diesel supply is restored, the cell towers will also fall victim to the current situation. Running generators continuously also means more generator breakdowns. So depending on these to keep sites operational even temporarily, seems optimistic at best. Commenting on the situation, Thirukumar mentions, “if power cuts can be reduced to under 6 hours daily, we may be able to maintain internet supply.”
As a user, your best alternative right now would be to plant yourself at a coworking space that offers backup power and (hopefully) uninterrupted internet. Here’s a list of co-working places that might help. Though we encourage you to reach out and verify before making your way to any of these spaces.
Meanwhile, Minister of Energy Gamini Lokuge has stated that the government will be purchasing 6,000 Metric Tonnes of diesel from the Lanka Indian Oil Company (LIOC). This diesel is to be allocated for essential services and power generation and will be arriving for transport on March 31. While this may not solve our long-term problems, it will help mitigate Sri Lanka’s woes in the short term, provided the supposed diesel does get distributed on time. As to what the future holds for the island beyond this, is anyone’s guess at the moment.
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