Poor signal during stage 6 load-shedding? Telkom explains why

Load-shedding hits and you can't even hotspot from your phone or make a call for help. Telkom has explained why.

Eskom implemented stage 6 blackouts this week, after unprotected strikes meant it could not fix or maintain some of its units.

South Africans, already gatvol of the outages, expressed their dismay at also not having a cellphone signal during load-shedding.

Telkom told its customers this week they are experiencing an eroded network signal because power outages do not allow enough time for cellphone towers to recharge fully.

“The downgrade of power supply to stage 6 load-shedding affects network performance significantly. While most of our sites have backup power, the discharge and recharge cycles do not allow enough time for the cellphone towers to recharge fully, resulting in an eroded network experience,” said the network provider.

While some were understanding of the situation, others slammed the network for being “here and there” during dark times.

Here is a snapshot of some of the reactions: