Hyderabad is teetering on the brink of a complete internet and cable TV shutdown as the Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) continues its stringent crackdown on low-hanging cables, initiated after electrocution deaths during processions. The campaign, ongoing for over three weeks, has severed connectivity for thousands of homes, businesses, hospitals, and mobile towers, with no immediate restoration permissions granted.

Middela Jitender, president of the Telangana Cable TV Internet and Telecom Service Providers Welfare Association, warned of an imminent citywide blackout, noting that despite efforts to bundle wires, the scale of Hyderabad’s 2,000 km cable network, built over 30 years, makes compliance a “humongous” task requiring more time and cooperation.

The disruption has caused widespread frustration, with 30–40% of telecom and internet services, including Airtel towers, offline, and 500–700 km of cables cleared in the last 15 days alone. Residents report missing online classes, struggling with work-from-home deadlines, and facing unstable mobile data, while corporate hospitals and diagnostic labs grapple with broadband outages, forcing reliance on costly mobile hotspots.

Jitender criticized small operators for haphazardly stringing wires and urged a halt to indiscriminate cable cutting, which has caused losses in lakhs, with repairs costing ₹20,000 per kilometer. He proposed a COAL tax regularization to replace tangled wires with a single 100-fibre line, a plan submitted to the government but awaiting approval.

TGSPDCL defends its actions, stating that only cables below 15 feet or unused are being removed to ensure public safety and protect linemen, with 60% of such cables already cleared. A senior official clarified that operators were given 18 months to raise cables to 18 feet, a commitment largely unmet, and noted that underground cabling is not mandatory.

The Telangana High Court’s order to remove unauthorized cables has intensified the crisis, leaving Hyderabad’s 3.5 crore telecom and 1 crore internet and cable connections in limbo. As consumers bear the brunt, caught between regulatory enforcement and operators’ challenges, the city faces an uncertain timeline for restoring essential digital services.

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