All three major operators in the earthquake region are facing a major communication problem. Increasing reactions on the one hand, and operators trying to continue their work on the other… Why is this scandal happening?
We awoke to the third day of two major earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, which caused the destruction of three cities to a large extent, with great uneasiness. It is not clear how serious the situation in the region is, moreover, aid and rescue efforts still cannot reach many points.
While all this is going on, especially in the vast majority of Hatay region, there is no mobile connection It is stated that it does not exist. This situation continues to cause a great reaction. Well, what is the latest situation in the region, what do the operators say?
Why mobile communication still cannot be established?
Two major earthquakes collapsed critical infrastructure systems used and located by operators and entire networks. Alright What was this infrastructure?
The mobile communication network throughout the country is realized through base stations, especially in the city, on buildings and high areas. But after two major earthquakes, thousands of buildings collapsed, along with base stations.
In other words, the current communication problem was not experienced due to intensity, unlike the earthquakes and disasters we encountered before and survived with less damage compared to the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. Infrastructure is physically destroyed.
What precautions are taken in such situations?
Infrastructure can be destroyed not only in Turkey but also in different countries of the world in such big disasters. For example, a similar result was seen after the 8.1 magnitude (Mw) earthquake in Nepal in 2015.
Operators and companies that develop communication technology, in such disaster situations mobile base stations and trying to establish a communication network in the region.
The priority of the communication network can also be:
The mobile communication network established in the disaster area is primarily to ensure the communication of teams arriving at the site for assistance and rescue. aims. This is another reason why the communication service is delayed in reaching the public.
What is happening in the area right now?
President in the region in rebuilding the infrastructure announced that thousands of construction machines to be assigned to duty were moving towards the region from all over the country. We will continue to follow the developments regarding the situation.
Joint statement from telecom operators:
Turkcell, Vodafone and Türk Telekom shared a statement within the Mobile Telecommunication Operators Association:
“We stand by our citizens in order to meet their communication needs in the earthquake zone.”
The explanation was limited to this sentence only.
The operators also made statements:
In the statement it shared, Turkcell stated that it continues to work across the country for the communication needs, and that communication is lost in the region. 900 sites have been serviced again. shared. He also stated that many mobile base stations and generators were shipped to the region.
Türk Telekom also shared that it had dispatched mobile base stations to the region in its statement on February 6, the first day of the earthquake. Vodafone also stated in its statement on February 6 that it continues its support activities.
Vodafone and Turk Telekom, He has not yet shared a new statement on the subject. Still, that certainly doesn’t mean that companies aren’t working right now.
Apart from mobile operators, Huawei, one of the communication technologies leaders, also sent its support to the region:
So what are the questions we should start asking soon?
This is not the agenda for today, and a great disaster has wreaked havoc due to past mistakes. But while we can’t change that today, we can change that in the future. we have to.
For this, we need to transition to next-generation infrastructure technologies, as well as constructing much more durable buildings. Also, in case of a disaster APPLICABLE to prepare disaster plans, to carry out these plans AVAILABLE ANYTIME mobile infrastructure is also required.
In this regard, we have seen technologies such as Dronecell from Turkcell in the past. Unfortunately, when we search for Dronecell on Google today, which is emphasized to be designed to provide communication support especially in disasters. of the page has been disabled and we see that we are redirected to the Turkcell homepage:
Likewise, if our own means are not enough, we need to be ready for any kind of support that may come from outside. Today, tens of thousands of citizens are still under the rubble, waiting to be rescued in the freezing cold. While the collapse of the communication infrastructure damages the coordination between the teams, it cannot be understood why technologies such as Starlink are not approved.