Cell phones of mobile telephony major, Airtel, fell silent in Hyderabad since 6 a.m. on Saturday morning with what was termed a systemic failure of its network. Till around noon, the situation was the same and no Airtel mobile could be accessed. The situation improved from around 1 p.m. onwards and slowly communication lines for Airtel customers got opened up. Enquiries revealed that Airtel was doing system integration and upgrades on the network that includes slightly over 2,500 cell sites in and around Hyderabad. However, somewhere in the communication loop, a snag led to what was well-nigh a complete breakdown of its mobile services including voice and data.
Post-noon, an Airtel spokesperson mailed a clarification saying a technical downtime had affected the network in certain regions of the city that led to customers getting limited access to mobile services in parts of the city.
“The network has been restored and is fully operational now. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to our valued customers,” the release said. A company executive maintained that the downtime had nothing to do with the 4G launch.
A technical downtime affected the network in certain regions in Hyderabad leading to customers getting limited access to services
– Airtel spokesperson