The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has said that fiber-to-home connectivity in Hyderabad has been hit due to the ‘indiscriminate cutting of cables’ by the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL).
“Today, a major network outage is affecting a large number of home broadband users in the city. This disruption has been caused by the electricity department’s indiscriminate and aggressive cutting of optical fiber cables,” S.P. Kochhar, Director General of COAI, has said.
Following two back-to-back electrocution incidents resulting in the killing seven people in religious processions yesterday, the power utility has intensified its crackdown on cable wires strung on electric poles.
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, who also holds the Energy portfolio, has directed the officials to launch a special drive to remove dangerously hanging cables from electricity poles.
Acting on his directive, TGSPDCL Chairman and Managing Director Musharraf Faruqui asked the utility staff to follow the instructions of the Deputy Chief Minister and clear the poles of dangling cables.
The COAI, however, asserted that Internet cables do not carry electricity (indicating that they had no connection with the electrocution).
“The industry is actively working to resolve the issue and restore services as quickly as possible. We urge the department to refrain from cutting optical cables, as they result in severe disruptions to internet connectivity, which is an essential service,” he said. The Hindu BusinessLine