Spain and Portugal were hit by major power outages in April of this year, showing how critical it is for emergency organisations such as hospitals, to have an on-premise telephone system in a situation like this – along with power backup. If both of these are present, then communication will usually still be possible.
In Spain and Portugal, telcos reported severe network issues caused by the nationwide grid outage. CloudFlare reported that Internet traffic dropped by as much as 30% in Portugal and 37% in Spain at 10:30 am (UTC).
Events like these bring to the fore the Internet’s inter-connectivity, and how its components all work together. As of 2023, Spain and Portugal have ranked among the top 25 most resilient countries globally and yet when hit by this power outage, they were severely affected. Exact information on what caused the blackouts has yet to be revealed but the whole world has been watching this situation.
Spain Power Outage Uncovers Limitations of Region’s Internet Resilience
When Spain and Portugal were hit by these widespread power outages in early May, it brought several major cities to a standstill. When the Spanish telcos reported severe network issues caused by the nationwide grid outage, this showed why it’s so important not to have all your communications solely in the cloud.
If an organisation’s communications networks are all ‘in the cloud,’ this can be disastrous
The fact that communications went down, along with the power, is something countries everywhere are looking at. Those organisations which didn’t have all their communications in the cloud would have fared better in the power outage because their communications have been set up in diverse ways and with power backup. More open-sourced and standardised data on the Internet and electricity ecosystems can improve Internet resilience. This is the advantage of having an on-premise telephone system.
When an organisation has a telephony platform which is all based ‘in the cloud,’ and then there’s a major power outage, there will be no Internet and therefore zero communications. This is extremely important for emergency organisations such as hospitals, fire stations etc.
On the other hand, if the organisation has a backup power generator and they have an on premise telephone system, then usually they’ll still be able to make calls. All emergency services such as hospitals, fire stations, police station etc – should have this type of system so they can withstand a power outage event like this one.
The Important Relationship between Electricity and Internet Resilience
An equally critical lesson from this power-related national Internet disruptions is the increasing importance of understanding and managing the relationship between electricity and Internet resilience. Spain and Portugal’s power outage – and subsequent Internet outages – are important reminders that electricity is the ultimate limiting factor affecting Internet resilience. If there’s no electricity to power routers, switches, receivers and data centres, then there is no Internet.
A resilient Internet connection usually maintains an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation. It’s unknown what caused Spain’s nationwide outage, but the impact was felt by telecom carriers in Spain, with 5G, Internet and data services also affected. Vodafone posted on social media this afternoon that its network is “temporarily operating at 70 percent capacity.” In a post on X, the carrier said that it’s operating at reduced capacity “thanks to backup generators, but its functionality will depend on the duration of the issue.”
Vodafone wasn’t the only operator affected by the chaos, with MásOrange confirming it was using gasoline-powered generators to keep power on in its offices and other telcos, including Telefónica and Digi, reporting impact from the outage.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has told reporters that “mobile phones should be used responsibly.” Exact information on what caused the blackouts has yet to be revealed.
For more information about how your organisation can withstand a power outage, talk to 𝗘𝗖𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗖 and ask them about their telecommunications systems from Mitel and how they can be set up to withstand most emergency events. Call ECCTEC on +𝟲𝟭 (𝟬𝟮) 𝟴𝟴𝟯𝟰 𝟯𝟴𝟴𝟴 or email to customerservice@ecctec.com.au
