MILAN/STOCKHOLM/PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Europe's top telecoms operators and an emergency services lobby on Monday urged Brussels to shield mobile and fixed grids from power cuts, a letter reviewed by Reuters showed, as worries grow about a loss of telecom networks during widespread blackouts.
Europe is facing potential energy rationing and power outages in the wake of the war in Ukraine, putting some key services such as emergency calls and infrastructure like telecoms networks to the test this winter. The joint letter sent on Monday is the first formal step by the European Telecommunications Network Operators (ETNO) and the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) to pressure the European Union executive body to step in.
ETNO represents former phone monopolies such as Germany's Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI), while EENA speaks for more than 1,500 emergency services representatives over 80 countries.
Emergency call services, telcos urge EU to protect telecoms networks from power cuts
, Supantha Mukherjee and Mathieu RosemainMILAN/STOCKHOLM/PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Europe's top telecoms operators and an emergency services lobby on Monday urged Brussels to shield mobile and fixed grids from power cuts, a letter reviewed by Reuters showed, as worries grow about a loss of telecom networks during widespread blackouts.
Europe is facing potential energy rationing and power outages in the wake of the war in Ukraine, putting some key services such as emergency calls and infrastructure like telecoms networks to the test this winter.
Some of Europe's top telecoms executives, including the boss of Orange, have recently voiced their concerns on the matter.
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The joint letter sent on Monday is the first formal step by the European Telecommunications Network Operators (ETNO) and the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) to pressure the European Union executive body to step in.
ETNO represents former phone monopolies such as Germany's Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Spain's Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI), while EENA speaks for more than 1,500 emergency services representatives over 80 countries.
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"Should telecommunications networks be subject to planned outages, citizens would risk not having access to communications services for the duration of the outage, including emergency communications," the letter signed by the heads of EENA and ETNO said.
If there is any rationing over the winter, certain services such as hospitals, police services and food production facilities would be prioritised under current plans to ensure the least possible impact if blackouts occurred.
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