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Network technicians welding cables and fixing issues amid heavy rain and landslides in Nguyen Binh (Cao Bang province). Photo: Nam Nguyen

Heavy rains and flooding severely impacted mobile communication infrastructure across several northern provinces. However, swift rescue operations by telecom companies, under the supervision of local authorities, have led to gradual restoration of the networks.

According to the Department of Information and Communications in Yen Bai Province, the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi caused substantial damage to the area’s communication systems. As of 5pm on September 11, a total of 639 mobile transmission towers had been affected by floods. Telecom companies have since repaired 441 of these towers, restoring services to many regions.

To ensure communication continuity during the flood and storm period, the provincial Department of Information and Communications directed telecom providers to enable network roaming among service operators as of September 10. Users have been advised to manually switch to the 2G/3G network mode for uninterrupted connectivity.

In Lang Son, as of the morning of September 11, 32 BTS stations remained non-operational, down from 77 on September 9. With power gradually being restored to the province, the number of offline towers is expected to further decrease in the coming days.

Cao Bang also experienced significant disruption, with 122 BTS stations losing service due to the storm. As of September 11, telecom operators had successfully restored 112 of these stations. Ten stations, operated by VNPT, Viettel, and MobiFone, are still awaiting repairs.

Flooding also caused damage to 18 optical fiber lines and 40 pieces of transmission equipment. Local authorities are working urgently to clear roads and restore power to the affected districts of Nguyen Binh, Bao Lac, and Bao Lam, essential for restoring telecommunications.

The Telecommunications Authority emphasized that power restoration remains the top priority for fully resuming telecommunications services across northern provinces.

To expedite recovery efforts, the Telecommunications Authority has coordinated with local Departments of Information and Communications and Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to share power restoration plans with telecom operators, ensuring timely restoration of mobile services in affected areas.

Trong Dat