The Ministry of Digital Affairs wants to increase the battery life of base stations during blackouts. The ministry wants mobile networks to be able to operate without power supply not for a few hours, but for several days. To this end, the state is discussing toughening requirements with Kyivstar, Vodafone, and lifecell.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs wants to increase the battery life of base stations during blackouts. The ministry wants mobile networks to be able to operate without power supply not for a few hours, but for several days. To this end, the state is discussing toughening requirements with Kyivstar, Vodafone, and lifecell.
This was stated by the head of the Ministry of Digital Economy, Oksana Ferchuk, in an interview with Forbes and Economic Pravda .
«There is a requirement that the connection work for more than 10 hours. We will adopt the next resolution and communicate what the limit will be. We aim for it to be increased,» Ferchuk told Forbes.
In an interview with the EP, she specified the ministry’s plans.
«I would like base stations to be able to operate autonomously not for a few hours, but for a few days,» Ferchuk said. According to her, the Ministry of Digital Affairs is already working directly with mobile operators to tighten requirements for uninterrupted network operation during possible winter blackouts.
It’s not just about increasing the number of batteries or generators. The Ministry of Digital Affairs wants to digitize the entire process of monitoring the operation of base stations.
«We want to automate this process so that informing happens automatically, and we have access to monitoring and visualization of the system’s operation,» Ferchuk explained.
This should solve the problem of manual control. During large-scale power outages, some base stations require the visit of technical specialists to check the equipment, start the generator, or restore power. «You can imagine the number of base stations that will require manual human departure and intervention,» said the head of the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
The previous requirement for autonomous operation of mobile networks for 10 hours appeared in 2024. Then, operators were obliged to ensure the operation of the network without electricity for 10 hours, and some base stations — for up to 72 hours.
Fulfilling these requirements, according to a Forbes interlocutor in the telecom industry, could cost the three largest operators — Kyivstar, Vodafone, and lifecell — more than UAH 13 billion.
Now the requirements may become even stricter. Ferchuk admits that this will mean additional investments for operators.
«On the one hand, yes, because this is an additional investment. But I would like to note that mobile operators are consciously approaching this. If there is no connection, they will have no subscribers and no revenue,» she told Forbes.
The second major area of preparation for winter is fixed internet, which can work during power outages.
This is about xPON technology — optical networks, which, if there is backup power for the equipment, can continue to work even during blackouts. According to Ferchuk, currently only 53% of Ukrainian households use such networks. «We have a big challenge, because today only 53% of households use such networks,» she told the EP.
The problem, she says, is not always the lack of technical ability to connect. Even where operators have already laid modern networks, people often do not switch to them until there are problems with the electricity supply.
«Even in cities where they have already completely switched to modern networks and actually laid them in parallel, people are not connecting. As long as there is no blackout, they do not see the need,» Ferchuk explained.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs wants to motivate Ukrainians to switch to a non-energy-dependent internet before possible problems with electricity begin. «We are now thinking about what motivational and media tools to use to encourage people to do this in advance, before there is a force majeure,» said the head of the ministry.
Earlier, Ferchuk also reported that the Ministry of Digital Affairs is preparing an xPON availability map, where users will be able to check whether such a network is available at their address.
