23 December 2008
Maputo — Mozambique's main mobile phone provider, the publicly owned Mcel, has suffered a catastrophic breakdown, leaving many of its three million subscribers unable to make or receive calls.
The problem began on Sunday morning, but by midday Mcel claimed the problem was solved. This was far from the case, and on Monday matters deteriorated still further. For the entire day it was quite impossible to use the Mcel network.
The result was a huge loss of business for Mcel, though the company has not yet put a figure on this. Much worse, for Mcel's long term future, is that many of its clients simply switched provider, buying start-up packages from the rival company, the South-African owned Vodacom.
Mcel says the problems were caused by oscillations in the power supply, which caused serious damage to the company's operating systems. A major overhaul has been necessary, replacing all the damaged equipment.
Using alternative sources of power, Mcel was able to restore some services on Monday, but only to clients with the latest 3G equipment. Communication was restored to Gaza and Inhambane provinces, and to Quelimane, Chimoio and Beira cities on Monday - but not to Maputo.
Even by Tuesday afternoon, the problem was far from solved, with some numbers operating normally and others still completely mute.
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