Tens of thousands in Lithuania still without mobile service after storm

Following a severe storm that swept through Lithuania over the weekend, an estimated 66,000 mobile service users remain without connectivity. Darius Kuliešius, deputy chairman of the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT), reported that "Tele2" is the most affected operator, with approximately 36,000 of its customers experiencing service disruptions.

Other operators are also impacted, with one reporting about 18,000 users without service and another around 12,000. Kuliešius stated that "Tele2" has the largest number, followed by "Telia" and "Bitė." The primary cause of these widespread outages is the loss of electricity, which has affected the functioning of mobile network base stations and fixed-line network nodes.

"Telia" reported that while the storm did not cause direct damage to its network infrastructure, power supply issues led to service interruptions. The company has managed to restore connectivity to about 95% of its network since Sunday. However, in areas where power has not yet been restored, customers may still face disruptions in mobile and fixed-line services, as well as mobile internet speeds.

Renaldas Radvila, head of ESO (Energy Distribution System Operator), noted that over 268,000 residents were left without electricity after the storm. While power has been restored to more than 50% of affected customers, approximately 100,000 are still without electricity, mainly in the Kaunas, Utena, Panevėžys, and Vilnius regions. At its peak, around 350 "Telia" base stations, or about 20% of its mobile network, were inoperable due to power outages.