Telecommunication services across Bangladesh were severely disrupted as thousands of mobile towers were down on Friday following widespread power outages triggered by a deep depression that formed over the Bay of Bengal and later weakened into a land depression.
According to officials, the depression, which developed on Thursday, brought heavy rain and strong winds in a large part of the country, causing damage to infrastructure and affecting electricity supply systems.
Although the depression weakened into a land depression its impact continued to be felt, especially in the telecommunication sector.
Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on Post, Telecommunications and ICT Affairs, said in a Facebook post on Friday that ongoing disruptions in telecommunication services were primarily due to the storm and tidal surge's effects on the national power grid.
He noted that efforts were underway to restore connectivity, with both telecommunication personnel and Rural Electrification Board teams working around the clock.
He reported that 8,262 mobile network sites had experienced power failure - representing 44 per cent of the country's total sites. Of these, 5,904 sites, or 35.8 per cent, remained non-operational. Only 64.2 per cent of the network was active.
To mitigate the crisis, portable generators were deployed to 624 sites, with an additional 504 on the way to further support restoration efforts.
The worst-affected areas include Barishal, Sylhet South, Tangail, Chandpur, Mymensingh, Dhaka North, Cumilla, Noakhali, and Chattogram South.
While government figures place the number of non-operational sites at just under 6,000, sources from the three private mobile operators suggest the actual number could be significantly higher - close to 13,000.
According to operator data, 4,474 Grameenphone sites, 3,020 Banglalink sites, and 5,500 Robi sites were currently down.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department forecast continued rainfall throughout Friday and into Saturday, with five divisions likely to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall.
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