Data Center Disruption: Power Crisis Threatens Nationwide Telecom Collapse

A nationwide risk of telecom network shutdown has emerged as mobile operators’ “brain” data centers face potential closure due to the ongoing electricity and fuel crisis. If telecom networks are widely disrupted, emergency services, disaster response, law enforcement, financial transactions, digital administration, and overall economic activities could be severely affected, potentially triggering a national crisis.

The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) has stated that operators across the country maintain 27 data centers. These data centers function as the “brain” of mobile operators—if they shut down, the entire network collapses.

In a letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), AMTOB expressed its concerns and called for an urgent high-level coordination meeting involving the Power Division, Energy Division, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, law enforcement agencies, and all mobile operators.

The association also urged ensuring uninterrupted power supply to key data centers and critical installations; prioritizing electricity supply to mobile base stations; and, if necessary, arranging emergency fuel supply directly from depots.

AMTOB Secretary General Lt. Col. (Retd.) Mohammad Zulfikar told Banglanews that if data centers are shut down or disrupted due to power or fuel shortages, the impact could spread rapidly and extensively across the entire network. A complete or partial shutdown could halt or severely disrupt all services, including calls, internet, and SMS.

Internet services could go down or become extremely slow, as traffic routing and control are managed from data centers. Services dependent on mobile networks—such as OTP, banking, mobile banking, and e-commerce—would also face negative impacts. Although operators have backup systems, there are doubts about how much backup can be sustained under the current conditions. It must be remembered that data centers are the “brain” of operators—if they stop, the entire network stops.

The letter noted that the current situation is extremely critical. Prolonged outages of commercial electricity and insufficient assured fuel supply for backup systems have pushed mobile network operators into a severe operational crisis. Recent storms and rainfall have further worsened the situation, causing frequent and prolonged power outages in various regions of the country.

In recent days, the duration of grid power outages has increased significantly, leading to excessive reliance on diesel generators.

Based on the current power situation, a summary of daily diesel and octane consumption for operating BTS sites (towers) shows that Grameenphone uses 28,079 litres of diesel and 9,254 litres of octane daily, Robi uses 13,140 litres of diesel and 5,510 litres of octane, and Banglalink uses 11,206 litres of diesel and 4,995 litres of octane. The total daily consumption of the three operators stands at 52,424 litres of diesel and 19,859 litres of octane.

The letter reiterated concerns that the situation has now moved beyond the operators’ control. If it persists, there is a risk of widespread telecom network shutdown across large parts of the country, severely disrupting emergency services, disaster management, law enforcement, financial transactions, digital governance, and overall economic activities, potentially leading to a national crisis.

The crisis has two main dimensions. First, prolonged and recurring power outages: during storms, many areas experience 5–8 hours of daily power cuts, with significant delays in restoration. As a result, critical telecom infrastructure—including data centers, switching facilities, and transmission hubs—is often operating without grid power, posing serious risks to network stability.

Second, a severe fuel supply shortage: due to extended outages, operators are entirely dependent on diesel generators. Both BTS sites and data centers are running on generators. A single data center consumes approximately 500–600 litres of diesel per hour, reaching around 4,000 litres per day. Local fuel stations are unable to supply such volumes.

According to data submitted to BTRC, daily diesel consumption for operating data centers and switching centers stands at 11,184 litres for Grameenphone, 7,812 litres for Robi, and 8,200 litres for Banglalink—a total of 27,196 litres per day.

Additionally, fuel transportation across districts is being hampered by obstacles from law enforcement agencies, further worsening the situation. As a result, fuel reserves at critical telecom installations have dropped to dangerously low levels.

In view of the situation, AMTOB has sought immediate intervention and proposed urgent measures:

1. Convene an emergency high-level coordination meeting involving the Power Division, Energy Division, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, law enforcement agencies, and all mobile operators.
2. Ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to listed key data centers and critical installations.
3. Bring all mobile base stations nationwide under priority electricity supply during the crisis, and arrange emergency fuel supply directly from depots if necessary.
4. Issue immediate written directives to law enforcement agencies to ensure uninterrupted fuel transportation for essential telecom operations.

The letter also included a database to ensure smooth fuel supply for all mobile operators nationwide, listing fuel stations, contact information of operators’ zonal heads, and details of authorized supply personnel (names, mobile numbers, national ID numbers, photos, etc.).

DBTech/MA/EK/OR