Venezuela Telecom Operators Struggle to Overcome Power Failures
- Some workers have been camping out at office in two-day shifts
- Investment for maintenance hampered by low, controlled prices
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Workers at Venezuela’s privately owned mobile service providers are scrambling to keep signals up after a five-day nationwide power outage, forcing some employees to drive around the capital in search of diesel to refuel power plants, according to accounts from employees.
Many Venezuelans are isolated after a massive power failure unplugged almost the entire country since March 7. In the capital Caracas, cars double park on the side of highways and people gather in public squares where mobile signal is strongest. To confront the crisis, workers at Telefonica SA’s Movistar unit have been sleeping in makeshift camps at one of its offices after 48-hour shifts, one of the people said.