Bangladesh could be hit by a widespread shutdown of mobile phone services without rapid improvements in fuel shortages sparked by the Middle East war, operators said Monday.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people imports 95% of its oil and gas, mostly from the Middle East. Shortages have hit the country hard, with queues at filling stations lasting as long as 12 hours.
The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) said Monday that continued operations can no longer be sustained without the fuel needed to power facilities, including data centers.
"The situation has escalated beyond the operational control," AMTOB wrote in a letter to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. "If these conditions persist, there is an imminent risk of large-scale telecom network shutdowns across significant parts of the country."
The association said the impact has already begun.
"Mobile network operators are experiencing severe operational distress due to the prolonged unavailability of commercial power and the lack of assured fuel supply for backup systems," the letter said.
AMTOB noted that data centers consume approximately 500 to 600 liters (132 to 158 gallons) of diesel per hour, amounting to nearly 4,000 liters per day per facility, which local fuel stations are unable to provide. "Multiple strategically vital telecom facilities are currently running on dangerously low fuel reserves," the association said.
AMTOB Secretary-General Mohammad Zulfikar said shutdowns of data centers would create ripple effects across the wider network.
"A partial or complete network blackout could bring calls, internet, SMS and all other services to a standstill or cause severe disruption," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP). "The internet may become painfully slow or go down entirely, as data centers are the command hubs where traffic is routed and controlled."
The government hiked fuel prices Saturday, raising diesel by 15%, from 100 to 115 taka (93 cents) a liter, and petrol by 16%, from 116 to 135 taka a liter. The increase triggered demands from bus and water transport owners for fare adjustments.
Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud told reporters Sunday that Bangladesh had to raise prices due to the global crisis. "The entire world has adjusted prices – even the U.S.," he said.
Depots were ordered to supply more fuel to filling stations at the revised prices, but the move has so far made little impact.
Md Sagar, 30, a motorbike driver, said he has not seen any improvement. "I waited for three hours and moved only a few meters," he told AFP. Another driver, Zakir Mia, said it took him 16 hours Sunday to refill his car.
