Residents of Donetsk are concerned about the lack of mobile communications from MTS, the last Ukrainian operator operating in the DPR in the standard range. The local operator "Phoenix" at the moment is not able to fully provide all its subscribers with the required services. For example, calls to Ukrainian numbers are not possible, and people lose contact with relatives. So why is there no MTS connection for so long?
First test
In the evening of January 11, 2018, many users began to complain about the lack of the ability to make and receive calls, as the coverage of the cellular network had disappeared sharply. This was not the first time for them, because there were similar problems with communication before. The question of why there is no MTS connection in Donetsk has never been so acute. She disappeared for several hours, or even for a couple of days, but always appeared after a while.
However, already on January 12, information appeared on the operator’s official website that this situation was different from those that had been before. A brief news bulletin said that there is extensive damage to the key trunk fiber optic cable that needs to be repaired. The question of why there is no MTS connection began to flicker in social networks much more often.
Problems on the way
It would seem that this is so? Ordinary malfunction that may occur due to irresponsible builders or black diggers. However, in this situation, everything was not so simple. There is no MTS connection in Donetsk due to a damaged main channel.
The fact is that cable damage was detected in the so-called "gray zone", which is a neutral territory between Ukrainian military units and DNI soldiers. In order for the repair team to carry out the required repair work, security guarantees are needed, which no party could provide without approval.
Attempts to find solutions
Some residents began to think that the operator decided to leave their subscribers, as Lifecell had already done about a year ago. However, on January 15, 2018, information appeared on the official website that negotiations had begun on ensuring a safe corridor in the gray zone. This could already be called a breakthrough, because further success depended on these negotiations, and the operator actively tried to hold them as soon as possible. The question of why there is no connection from MTS began to be gradually resolved. The difficulty was to reach an agreement between the two warring parties. Previously, when such a need arose, almost all such negotiations failed miserably, but this time it was different.
Start of repair work
As early as January 17, 2018, the operator reported on the start of repair work. This meant that they still managed to agree, and the connection would be restored. It remains only to wait for the completion of repair work. According to official reports, the removal of this particular fault took about two days. As a result, on January 19, 2018, a message appeared in the operator’s news feed that the connection was restored in full in the neighboring LPR. However, as it turned out, this was not the end of the story.
There is still no connection in Donetsk
After the restoration of the main cable, attempts were made to launch equipment located on the territory of Donetsk. However, at least remotely, it was not possible to access it. This meant only one thing: there is no MTS connection in Donetsk, and it will not appear quickly. As the operator himself suggests, this is due either to a lack of power at the base stations, or to their physical damage.
The reports that were published earlier contain information on the amount of damaged equipment. Even before this accident, it amounted to one third of all the operator’s assets in the territory of the DPR. This suggests that the obstacles that need to be overcome in order to restore full working capacity were much greater.
Current situation
As of January 22, 2018, there is no communication from MTS in Donetsk. Coverage is still missing. However, residents of the outskirts report that sometimes they manage to activate on the network and even make a few calls. This suggests that the towers on the periphery of the city are in good condition and provide cellular network coverage.
The operator continues repair work in order to completely restore communication for its subscribers. Indeed, for many residents of Donetsk, the possibility of using exactly the Ukrainian card is an urgent need. Banks do not recognize internal operator numbers, therefore, to use the money transfer option, you must accept SMS, and if there is no MTS connection, it is simply impossible to remove a salary or pension.
One can only hope and wait for the operator to carry out all the necessary work related to the restoration of the network of base stations. It is encouraging that the process is not stopped, but is moving forward, although not as fast as many would like. The only strange fact is the lack of repair teams from MTS in Donetsk, which could quickly fix the malfunction. The main difficulty is seen in the fact that the repair is carried out by visiting repairmen from Ukraine, which significantly slows down the process.