New Delhi: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), working with telecom service providers, says it is restoring and monitoring mobile networks in the areas hit by Cyclone Arnab, which struck along the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast amid heavy rainfall, flash floods, fallen trees and power disruptions, according to a department statement released through the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
Source: PIB / DoT via India Education Diary
In Andhra Pradesh, overall telecom network availability has reached 99.18 per cent, the DoT said. Among the affected districts, availability stands at 98.5 per cent in West Godavari and 91.96 per cent in Dr B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema. The department named commercial power supply disruptions and localised optical fibre cable cuts as the primary factors still affecting network operations.
Source: PIB / DoT via India Education Diary
State-level restoration figures reported separately give a tower-by-tower picture of the remaining work in Andhra Pradesh: of 1,045 damaged mobile towers belonging to different service providers, 661 are functioning again and 384 remain to be restored, ReportWire reported on Friday, citing officials at a review held by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The same review was told that 4,881 of 5,404 villages that lost power in the Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company area have been reconnected — power supply is the main bottleneck the DoT also flagged for telecom sites.
Source: ReportWire
To keep people connected while towers are repaired, Intra-Circle Roaming (ICR) remains operational across the affected districts, so a subscriber can connect through another operator's network in the same circle if their own provider has no coverage, and 11 Cell on Wheels (COWs) — mobile base stations mounted on trucks — have been deployed to strengthen emergency communication, the DoT said.
Source: PIB / DoT via India Education Diary
The DoT advises keeping 'Automatic Network Selection' on in your phone settings. If it still does not connect, go to Settings > Mobile Networks > Network Operators and manually select another available network — that is how Intra-Circle Roaming connects you during a disaster.
In Odisha, the DoT said the telecom situation in Ganjam, Gajapati and Kandhamal districts is gradually improving as rainfall eases and floodwaters recede, with providers working on priority to restore the remaining affected sites and bring services back to normal. What happens next is the last stretch of repairs — the remaining towers, fibre cuts and power connections in Konaseema and the Odisha districts — while ICR and the Cell on Wheels units stay in place to support relief work.