It is nice to see that Airtel network did not go down during this power crisis in India.
But when nothing worked in the states where power failed, how did Airtel manage to keep network up? We decided to investigate further and contacted Airtel spokespersons.
Here is what we found out:
a) As soon as grid went down, backup power usage at network switch hubs was managed very carefully. All non-essential personnel were sent home to keep usage down to a minimum.
b) During normal days diesel is filled in the generator every 12 hours, during the power failure it is being filled every 4 hours.
c) Network team is working extra time to make sure that there is absolutely no outage at switches.
As you can see in the tweets we have shared below Airtel customers in North India are happy that they had mobile connectivity during this crisis.
We are happy to see service provider taking steps to ensure that network keeps working, even when the rest of the things are not working. Did you face any issue with your operator during blackout do let us know via comments.
Shyam August 12, 2012 at 9:14 pm
1000 likes…. Airtel kerala suckss….. No good offers ,network outages ,worst worst customer care .[tat too charged]
Idea is far better bt they hv to improve their 3g coverage
kishor August 4, 2012 at 1:24 pm
In Kerala Airtel is the worst service provider with the worst customer care.Recently airtel network goes down several times.So i cant agree with TT statement.Regarding Idea the network is very good with very good coverage,but their 3G speed recently gone bad.Hope they will improve.
kishor August 4, 2012 at 1:23 pm
@cva
but no coverage… if u like to use it pls buy a tower also
Renish August 3, 2012 at 8:16 pm
+1
Tarun del August 3, 2012 at 11:22 am
Hi Tarun
If I see the comments above then I think this article should have been some importance if other providers have failed to provide services during blackout. Since, they were also working fine I guess this gives not much praise for Airtel. They are just doing their business and did not wanted to loose any penny.
cva August 2, 2012 at 11:29 pm
I like Docomo, its really innovation by way of penetrating into customer’s, its a new direction of Indian Telecom. Thanks to Docomo. Not even in power crises like Airtel.
Aitel is too costly provider.
Inder August 2, 2012 at 2:54 pm
@irfan
yeah every network was fine and behaving like normal so whats the big deal?
I love tatadocomo and it was also working hard
Proximus August 2, 2012 at 10:04 am
In Kerala Airtel is the worst service provider with the worst customer care.Recently airtel network goes down several times.So i cant agree with TT statement.Regarding Idea the network is very good with very good coverage,but their 3G speed recently gone bad.Hope they will improve.
irfan August 2, 2012 at 9:12 am
what is so special about airtel every company was working fine i am using tata docomo and vodafone both were woring fine during the blackout
Smadav August 2, 2012 at 6:13 am
Airtel is the Best, with many problems
dabbu28577 August 1, 2012 at 8:25 pm
WTF……..all networks where running smoothly…..am a vodafone and cellone user….didnt face any problem
sushant gupta August 1, 2012 at 7:49 pm
there’s nothing special,all BTS have general backup plan for at least 10 to 15 hrs,this much backup can be assured by battery bank alone during condition even worse diesel generators are used.
Sandeep August 1, 2012 at 6:57 pm
Why should the network go down ? Almost all the towers run on Generators using Subsidized Diesel.
abhijith August 1, 2012 at 5:37 pm
In network quality airtel is always no . 1 . .
ARJUN CHANDRASHEKAR August 1, 2012 at 4:40 pm
AIRTEL DOESN’T HAVE NETWORK PROPERLY INDOORS WITHOUT BLACK OUT AND HOW ARE YOU PEOPLE PRAISING AIRTEL. AIRCEL, DOCOMO, VODAFONE, IDEA, BSNL AND RELIANCE ARE HAVING BETTER CONNECTIVITY THAN AIRTEL DURING BLACKOUT. AND PLEASE DON’T POST THIS STATEMENT
@kishor
WELL BUDDY AIRTEL IS HAVING WORST NETWORK IN TOWN AND RURAL AREA.AND PLEASE DON’T COMMENT STUPIDLY AIRTEL IS ALWAYS WORST WORST WORST
kishor August 1, 2012 at 4:27 pm
that depend on revenue… if it rural area , airtel never keep that standard…
Debashish August 1, 2012 at 4:27 pm
I use Aircel 2G in New Delhi! and i was tweeting all the time cursing the BSES for killing my sleep at night!! Not even for a second, the network let me down. the best part of being an Aircel subscriber is, here in delhi while others provide a limit in ur 2G plan (1GB), Aircel provides unlimited 2G!! beat that Sunil Mittal!!
krishnendu August 1, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Actually airtel services are normally so pathetic that their customers are amazed to get network during powercut!!Btw I was watching live streaming cricket match during the powercut with my reliance 3g!
Subhadip Debnath August 1, 2012 at 3:00 pm
huh whats so special about it???!!! All BSNL, Vodafone and Aircel network was working fine in West Bengal including Kolkata and wasnt down for a single second … even i was browsing with Aircel 2g and got usual speed 200+ kbps (25-29KBps).Airtel is the most overhyped network nowadays.
ARJUN CHANDRASHEKAR August 1, 2012 at 12:42 pm
TT MEMBERS WHY ARE YOU BIASED TOWARDS AIRTEL NETWORK? WHAT’S SO SPECIAL IN IT? ESPECIALLY ONE OF MY FRIEND IS USING AIRCEL and MTNL NETWORK IN DEHLI AND HE DIDN’T FIND ANY ISSUE.SO PLEASE DON’T PRAISE AIRTEL AND CRITICISE OTHER OPERATORS
Pappu August 1, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Didn’t face any issues in Kolkata circle with Vodafone, Reliance, BSNL etc.
Rupesh August 1, 2012 at 11:30 am
I didn’t faced any problem with my docomo connection in jharkhand also . Airtel is ………… I love docomo
biswajeet August 1, 2012 at 10:59 am
airtel roam free now active,try ur own state
biswajeet August 1, 2012 at 10:55 am
@Saurabh
here in bihar idea nt give up 5 kbps,
ur state idea 80 kbps nt belive that in 2g
vijin August 1, 2012 at 10:30 am
in kerala airtels network is bad. Bsnl has gud network.
Sayan Chattopadhyay August 1, 2012 at 9:24 am
didn’t face any problem with bsnl 3g and docomo. Thanks to both of them!
Saurabh August 1, 2012 at 9:21 am
lol. Airtel is the wort operator in Haryana. It’s doesn’t matter whether there is a power crisis or any other crisis, Airtel network always remains weak throughout the day. Call Drops and slowest 2G Internet services is what Airtel provides in Haryana. It’s on No.6 position in terms of subscriber base here and I fear if DoT bans ICRA, those customers who have Airtel SIMs and using strong Idea 3G network will also leave it and specially the customers who are using 3G as they will shift to ones having the license. Even Airtel 2G customers here switch network to Idea to get constant 80Kbps speed as Airtel’s own network provides 16-24Kbps only which is 2-3kB/s.
My brother also has Airtel as primary operator but he always keep his network to Idea 3G in order to avoid call drops. Now he’s thinking of porting to either Vodafone or Idea which have strongest network in Haryana.
One of my cousin ported into Airtel from Idea without consulting me and now he’s regretting his decision and waiting for 90 days to get over so that he can switch back to Idea.
syam August 1, 2012 at 7:55 am
Good… Here in kerala also the airtel is good.
Arup August 1, 2012 at 7:45 am
I am from West Bengal.my BSNL 3g was working fine.
thanks to BSNL.. …
Kishore August 1, 2012 at 6:59 am
Great show Airtel. Way to go..
dskushwaha August 1, 2012 at 3:14 am
UP telecom companies might not be affected much as it is regular practice for them. (:D)
sunny August 1, 2012 at 12:28 am
what special in airtel, my bsnl was working fine
sunny August 1, 2012 at 12:27 am
bsnl was working fine with the 3g speed here reliance idea and voda was down
ayan August 1, 2012 at 12:20 am
my last 8 hours communication was only through BSNL sim……..but my RELIANCE gsm was totaly dull specially in evening……..thanks BSNL ……
Arindam August 1, 2012 at 12:01 am
BSNL working fine. Even 3g. Idea and vodafone not working.
sudip saha July 31, 2012 at 11:57 pm
my vodafone data card offered me normal 3g services without any glitch. But my bsnl sim was down for sometime. My location : Metiabruz, kolkata
Jobby Mathew July 31, 2012 at 11:52 pm
Yes there was some minor glitches with Vodafone in NCR … ! But it dint last long ..
Jhupoo July 31, 2012 at 11:47 pm
31.7.12 from 11 am and now 11.29 pm power cut in our area but Aircel rocks,even edge with full speed.
Abhineet July 31, 2012 at 11:44 pm
Exactly mine vodafone was working absolutely fine without any issues! Whats so special with AirTel ??
srinivas July 31, 2012 at 11:41 pm
Reliance GSM and MTS networks were both working all the time in delhi during power crisis , whts special about Airtel
Kirti Raj Chahar July 31, 2012 at 11:40 pm
what is special with airtel? in rajasthan, which was badly affected by power crisis BSNL network was working well and i think all other networks were also working fine.
Kaushik Roy July 31, 2012 at 11:37 pm
but what about mumbai outage ?
its happen twice in last 3 years
Airtel is worst when there is a blackout
sayantan July 31, 2012 at 11:20 pm
in kolkata vodafone,bsnl,aircel was fine during blackout.what’s spcl. for airtel!!
Vimal July 31, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Yes my classmates Airtel number was working but mine Vodafone was dead for sometime
..
Ashish July 31, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Idea, Aircel, Vodafone networks also did not go down for a second during power crisis…..whats so special Airtel done in that period ….huh