Internet outage in Hyderabad sparks anger as work and banking grind to halt

A widespread internet outage hit Hyderabad on Wednesday, disrupting IT work and online transactions. ISPs blamed indiscriminate cable cutting by TGSPDCL, while COAI warned of severe service disruptions. Frustrated citizens lashed out on social media as restoration timelines remained unclear.

Hyderabad: The massive internet outage across different parts of Hyderabad on Wednesday, coming on a work day, has left professionals, especially from the tech field, seething.

That the authorities had earlier advised people to work from home, as a precaution from heavy rains, but decided to remove internet cables without prior notice, has left people fuming.

---

The outage has severely impacted daily work and online transactions. Due to no network, people and banks have not been able to go ahead with their scheduled online transactions, impacting the digital finance sector.

With internet service providers unable to give a timeline for restoration of services, the general public has channeled their frustrations on Telangana Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) through various social media outlets.

Almost all the internet service providers have acknowledged widespread internet outages but also have maintained that the cause of the outage is not due to their own network failure but rather to a city-wide action by the State government’s department.

The service providers through Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) have stated that the outages were due to indiscriminate and aggressive cutting of optical fibers by the power utility company.

“Hyderabad has a reputation of being the silicon valley of India after Bengaluru. However, it has no internet. Just like that, they cut cables all across Hyderabad. No heads up. Even the service providers are unable to say exactly when services will be restored. It may take days to sought-out this unnecessary mess created by the Government,” fumed Sreekar, on X.

Meanwhile, Director General, COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India), Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar in a statement said “The industry is actively working to resolve the issue and restore services as quickly as possible. We urge the department to refrain from cutting optical cables, as they result in severe disruptions to internet connectivity, which is an essential service”.