Winter power outages in Ukraine: how long will the Internet and mobile communications work?

Ukrainian telecom operators are preparing for the winter, when mass power outages are possible. They are installing generators, upgrading networks, and stocking up on batteries so that base stations can operate autonomously for up to three days.

This was stated by the head of the National Communications Regulatory Commission (NCRC) Liliya Malen in an interview for “Central Power Plant”.

“Operators have received requirements: batteries, generators. Preparations are underway not only by mobile but also by fixed internet providers,” Malen noted. She added that technical readiness checks have been ongoing since 2023, covering everything from generators and fuel to mobile teams and personnel.

The head of the regulator also noted that even with generators and batteries, communication is not guaranteed in the event of long-term outages: “The battery runs down, the generator needs to be recharged…” — explained Malen. According to her, fixed Internet has an advantage: the router can be connected to a power bank, and operators are massively switching to PON technology, which will allow the network to be kept in offline mode for up to 72 hours.

NKEK reminds about the operation of the national roaming system: if one operator’s network goes down, users can switch to another network. The head of the regulator called on Ukrainians to use communication responsibly during outages: “Do not view unnecessary content… communication at this time is about survival.”

As a reminder, the head of Ukrenergo, Vitaliy Zaychenko, reported that emergency power outage schedules have now been canceled in Ukraine, but there remains a risk of hourly outages returning in the event of an increase in load or new attacks on the power system.

As reported, as a result of recent shelling of critical infrastructure in Ukraine, in particular energy facilities, many regions of the country have faced prolonged power outages . This creates additional difficulties for the population, especially in the conditions of the need to maintain communication and access information. However, there are places where you can charge mobile devices for free and stay connected.

By the way, more than half of Ukrenergo’s energy facilities have installed engineering protection to counter drone attacks . The completion of the second phase of shelters is scheduled for the first half of 2026.

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