The harsh weather conditions experienced in recent weeks have posed challenges not only for people but also for mobile networks. Extreme cold can put significant strain on network infrastructure, so providers must be prepared to ensure that users can continue using their mobile devices without interruption.

Overall, today’s modern mobile telecommunications equipment is designed to operate reliably across very wide temperature ranges; however, severe cold can still lead to both minor and more significant issues. CETIN Hungary, which owns and operates one of the major telecommunications network infrastructures in Hungary with more than 4060 base stations across the country, takes preventive measures whenever extreme weather is anticipated in forecasts. This has been the case now as well: the company notified its field maintenance partners that an increased number of faults and outages could be expected and advised them to prepare for the additional workload with extra personnel, vehicles, and backup generators.

“Thanks to CETIN Hungary’s 24/7 monitoring system, every malfunction automatically triggers an alert,” said István Urbán, head of CETIN Hungary’s Network Operations Center. “During extreme weather, the number of fault reports may rise to several times the usual volume — in the most severe cases even tenfold. Our teams were prepared, and the extreme cold did not cause any major issues in the network infrastructure.”

The service provider can perform all adjustable settings and configuration changes remotely — meaning that when temperatures drop very low, even the heating can be switched on without on site intervention. Technicians only need to visit a location if physical equipment needs to be replaced.

How does the network cope with extreme weather conditions?

Under extreme weather conditions, faults most commonly occur in the power supply chain. Such issues can arise at any base station, but in these cases, users often do not notice anything because the backup power source temporarily takes over - its capacity depends on the station’s importance within the network. In case of a prolonged outage, mobile generators are deployed.

Severe frost is rare in Hungary and usually short-lived. During such periods, microwave equipment may become partially or completely iced over, reducing capacity or — in extreme cases — even causing the affected base station to shut down entirely. It may also happen that maintenance personnel are unable to climb an ice-covered tower, temporarily preventing them from repairing equipment that has failed for any other reason. Also, sometimes ice freezes onto the power cable supplying electricity to the base station, and its weight increases so much that the cable breaks.

However, the most common weather-related issues are not caused by cold but by severe storms and thunderstorms. These can create concentrated problems in specific areas, particularly in the power supply: storm winds can break power cables, damage poles so that they fall, or lightning strikes may cause overvoltage in the electrical network. In such situations, the telecommunications infrastructure provider also prepares for the additional tasks arising from the expected faults or outages.