Telcos brace for Super Cyclone Amphan, ink roaming pacts, stock up diesel

Kolkata: Big phone companies have set in motion a slew of measures, including the setting up of virtual network monitoring war rooms, inking intra-circle roaming (ICR) pacts amongst themselves and stocking up critical spares and fuel at tower sites to ensure uninterrupted telecom and broadband connectivity in West Bengal and Odisha that will bear the brunt of Super Cyclone Amphan likely to hit these regions Wednesday afternoon.

Both Bharti AirtelNSE 0.59 % and Vodafone IdeaNSE 0.88 % (VIL) have tested ICR arrangements in advance to ensure all telecom operators in the impacted states can collaborate and use each other’s networks wherever required once Amphan strikes, and people can stay connected.

Industry circles though expect the super cyclone to cause extensive damage to telco networks and disrupt power supplies that could pose challenges in ensuring uninterrupted mobile coverage in the impacted zones.