Why did GSM lines crash? Minister Uraloğlu explains

Following the 6.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Istanbul around noon yesterday, GSM operators were unable to provide service again. Citizens reacted to the operators, as a similar situation had occurred after the February 6 earthquakes.

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu appeared before the press today after a meeting with the CEOs of Turkcell, Türk Telekom, and Vodafone.

The Minister's statements are as follows:

'WE EXPERIENCED A 2-FOLD INCREASE IN WEB-BASED CALLS'

'We have been monitoring the field since yesterday. We met with the CEOs of Turkcell, Türk Telekom, and Vodafone. There are 20 thousand base stations in Istanbul. There was no coverage issue. There were no problems such as power outages or destruction. Why did the problem occur? Our routine communication capacity is 2.5 times the normal level. I can say that yesterday we experienced a voice call capacity that was 7 to 10 times higher. We experienced a 2-fold increase in web-based calls.

'WE DISCUSSED WHAT WE NEED TO DO'

'We met 75 percent of the existing calls here. We could not meet 25 percent. There was a 15-minute peak time when the desired calls could not be made. Such a situation occurred because people wanted to hear from their relatives during the moment of crisis. We discussed what we need to do to avoid experiencing similar problems.'

'NORTH MARMARA EXAMPLE REGARDING GSM'

The Northern Marmara Motorway was fully flowing yesterday. Speeds dropped to 50-60 kilometers there because there was an exodus from Istanbul. If you add a vehicle capacity beyond its limit, the speed drops. Something similar happened on the communication side.

'WE WILL PREVENT SIMILAR ISSUES'

'We recommend that they use internet-based communication or text messages for communications. From now on, as a ministry, we will prevent similar issues with our three operators to eliminate such problems.'

News Source: 12punto