Published 17 days ago • loading... • Updated 16 days ago
Bangladesh Faces Telecom Shutdowns From Middle East Fuel Crisis
Operators said data centres use 500-600 litres of diesel an hour and warned service outages could spread across calls, internet and SMS.
On Monday, The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh warned of imminent nationwide mobile network shutdowns due to fuel shortages, urging the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to intervene immediately.
The government raised fuel prices by up to 16 percent on Saturday, including diesel from 100 to 115 taka per litre, citing global supply disruptions sparked by the Middle East war.
Data centers require nearly 4,000 liters of diesel daily to maintain operations, yet local filling stations cannot supply the fuel needed to sustain these critical command hubs for network traffic routing.
AMTOB Secretary-General Mohammad Zulfikar warned a 'network blackout' could halt all services, stating, 'The internet may become painfully slow or go down entirely' as data centers are command hubs for traffic control.
Driver Zakir Mia faced 16-hour waits on April 19 to refill his car, while Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud defended the price increases as necessary during the global crisis affecting worldwide fuel supplies.
The energy crisis in Bangladesh, caused by the war in the Middle East and the strong dependence on oil and gas imports, is jeopardising the functioning of the data centers, which are fundamental for the telecommunications network. Fuel stocks are now at their lowest and operators warn that a possible blackout could block calls, internet and SMS in most of the country.