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A disruption in cell phone telecom services following the power cut yesterday exposed the vulnerability of the country's lone telecom operator. More than a million cell phone users remained disconnected for hours. People said only land phones were working and nothing else. Not even Etisalat services line such as 101 were working. However, yesterday's incident will be hard to forget by many, especially businessmen, many of whom complained of losing business because the cell phone service was down. Etisalat runs its mobile telecom network through base (booster) stations, which transmit signals and enable the cell phone set to remain connected. An Etisalat spokesperson told Gulf News yesterday, "Base stations are interconnected through electrical cables and are powered by electricity. So, if the power supply goes off, the base stations cannot operate and the cell phones do not get signals in those areas. "That's what could have caused the disruption of the mobile telecom services," he added. Telecom industry sources said Etisalat does not have the back up power supply which most countries have. "This is crucial. Communications is an essential service which must have a back up system whatever the cost," said a private telecommunication system supplier in Dubai. "Etisalat's booster stations do not have a back up system. You don't need an expensive alternate power supply network for this. "All you need are power generators which can be diesel or battery operated and can provide power to the booster stations at least for some hours during emergency power failures," he said. Etisalat in a press release stated that its cell phone, fixed line and internet network continued to function with normal efficiency during the power supply outage in the city of Dubai. "This is the result of the highest precautions taken by the corporation with regard to electric power across its buildings and locations. "The available back-ups in Etisalat ensured excellent delivery of services, without interruption during the unscheduled power outage," the statement said. "It has been brought to Etisalat's attention that approximately 35 per cent of cell phone coverage area in Dubai, concentrated in the commercial buildings area, has been affected due to the interruption in power supply. The space and facilities available in these locations for back-up power supply is very limited, which is the reason for the service drop," it said. Most international cell phone operators usually have their own power back-up system that kicks in once normal power supply stops. "Cellphone network functioned well in North America, when a major power breakdown took place in the United States and Canada last year," said a Canadian resident. "I don't know why they don't have a back-up system in the UAE, where teledensity is so high." An Etisalat spokesperson told Gulf News it is impossible to have full back up power system to cover Etisalat's total network because that would mean they need a parallel power generation, transmission and distribution system to the existing one and that would be impossible for them.
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