Residents are having a hard time after Telenor and MPT phone networks have been cut out for about a week in Kale Township in Sagaing Division and nearby cities in Chin State.
As phone lines are down, people are facing difficulties in communication and experiencing business losses, a resident from Kale said.
“As long as the phone lines are convenient, you can know immediately about any urgent matters and do what shall be done. Now, access to the phone networks becomes intermittent and communication is lost. We can't make phone calls on work matters hence have to travel in person or by motorbike or by car. Fuels are unnecessarily wasted, and works are delayed”, a Kale based businessman said.
Recently, MPT and Telenor networks have been down continuously for almost 7 days, and Ooredoo phone lines are also inconvenient to use, he added.
Mobile data internet support is no longer available after phone networks go down. Only those who have Wifi access can use the internet to communicate with each other.
According to the residents, phone networks are down, and Wi-Fi internet connections are slow in some cities in northern Chin State such as Hakha, Falam and Tedim too, making locals have difficulties communicating when needed.
“MPT and Telenor phone lines have been cut here for a long time. We can still use Ooredoo phone lines but that’s not very convenient either. Currently, everyone here is in quite a lot of trouble because of the phone line problems”, a resident from Tedim said.