Mobile service, internet connectivity, and banking services were all heavily affected across the country after a fire broke out in the Ramses telecoms data center yesterday afternoon, disrupting network connection. ATMs, POSs, and online transactions — including InstaPay — have also been impacted by the connectivity outage, as were some hotlines.

PSA- The Health Ministry published alternative main ambulance, emergency police hotline, and urgent care numbers (here, here, and here).

Flights temporarily affected: The connectivity disruption also caused “limited” flight delays, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. Operations have since returned to normal at Cairo International Airport, with all passenger terminals operating normally and all flights that had been affected by the outage taking off, the ministry said this morning.

Where things stand: Broadband services have been moved entirely to El Rawda, the NTRA said. The most recent update from Netblocks, which tracks global internet connectivity, suggests that connectivity levels across the country are at “44% of ordinary levels,” falling from an earlier report that connectivity was at 62% of ordinary levels.

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

The blaze injured at least 22 people, with most suffering from smoke inhalation, Health Ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told Reuters. A large number of fire trucks were dispatched to contain the blaze, with Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber personally overseeing efforts to put out the fire. The fire was brought under control last night, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) confirmed in a statement overnight.

What caused the fire? The fire broke out in an equipment room at Telecom Egypt’s Ramses switchboard, the NTRA said. Investigators think right now that it is likely the result of an electrical short circuit, according to MENA news agency. Power was cut off to the entire building as a safety measure, but service is being gradually restored, the NTRA said. The regulator added that it will compensate all those impacted by the network disruptions. El Hekaya’s correspondent said the fire reignited several times in different floors throughout the night (watch, runtime: 4:50).

SOUND SMART- The Ramses telecoms data center is the focal point of internet in the country, used by Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, and Orange to route calls and connect users to the internet.

We have backup plans: Speaking to El Hekaya’s Amr Adib, NTRA official Mohamed Ibrahim emphasized the importance of the Ramses telecoms data center but noted that contingency measures are in place for such emergencies (watch, runtime: 6:35). “There are other telecoms data centers of similar size and importance capable of performing the one in Ramses’ role, and we’ve already started shifting all traffic and lines to alternative centers to gradually restore services,” he said.

The two floors of the data center that were affected by the fire housed technical equipment that connects many Telecom Egypt services, Ibrahim said. “Naturally, if Telecom Egypt is impacted, other services like mobile and home internet will also see disruptions,” he said, explaining that telecom services are interlinked among operators.

The fire received coverage across the foreign press: Reuters | Bloomberg | AP.

Tags: