Wednesday, 3 September 2025, 15:30
On 28 April 2025 millions of people in Spain were left without electricity due to the massive power outage that affected almost the entire country, but many were also left without mobile phone coverage for several hours. Mobile phone operators have been criticised for not being prepared for such a situation.
The Secretary of State for Telecommunications, Antonio Hernando, announced on Tuesday 2 September that the government is to launch a public consultation process to increase the security requirements for operators’ networks in the event of such incidents.
Secretary of State for telecommunications, Antonio Hernando.
EP
Hernando was speaking on the second day of the Digital Economy and Telecommunications Meeting organised by Ametic to show that the government is already working with the sector. The main objective is to strengthen the resilience of the network in the face of catastrophes such as the blackout in April, but also climate emergencies such as the flooding in Valencia in October 2024.
“The public has realised that for there to be connectivity there must be electricity. We are in talks with the sector because we have to improve connectivity and resilience to events of this magnitude,” said Hernando, who alluded to the importance of the security of the communications system in the face of events of this magnitude.
During April’s blackout mobile phone operators’ batteries provided coverage for a very limited and differing amount of time depending on the operators, with Vodafone being the one that was able to provide service to its customers for the most hours that day.
After the blackout, operators began to consider the need to increase investment in back-up infrastructure, but it is also necessary to take into account the technological limitations of these batteries or the space limitations in the buildings where the antennas are sometimes installed.
According to Ookla data, some two hours after the power outage only 40 per cent of people in Spain had an internet connection from their devices. The blackout left telecommunications antennas without a network due to the high electrical dependence of the infrastructure, experts said.
Companies with their own networks sold many of their telecommunications towers to operators such as Cellnex, which manage these sites and rent services from them. One of these services is the batteries that the mobile network draws on in the event of a power outage.