Bite Latvia CEO: August storm exposes need for closer cooperation on critical infrastructure resilience
Following the late-August storm that caused widespread power outages in Latvia, Bite Latvia's CEO argues that telecom network resilience is closely tied to power supply and requires coordinated cooperation between the state, municipalities and companies. He notes that full 72-hour autonomy for the entire mobile network is not technologically achievable and calls for a proportionate, risk-based approach.
The storm that hit Latvia in late August, causing widespread power supply disruptions, has prompted a fresh look at the country's critical infrastructure readiness for emergencies. Commenting on the aftermath, Bite Latvia CEO Mindaugs Rakausks stresses that power supply, communications, transport and public administration systems are tightly interconnected — a disruption in one area is felt across the entire ecosystem.
He notes that emergency calls to 112 are already handled on a priority basis, and residents can make them using any available operator's network. This shows that in crisis situations, what matters most is the overall resilience of the whole infrastructure rather than the performance of any single operator.
Investments and their scale
Over more than 20 years, Bite Latvia has invested roughly €200 million in communications infrastructure, maintaining more than 1,200 base stations equipped with backup batteries, plus stationary and mobile generators at strategically important sites. However, ensuring that all of the company's base stations could operate for 72 hours without external power would require at least an additional €100 million in investment. The author stresses that full autonomy for the entire mobile network is neither technologically nor economically justified, and no European country has implemented it.
Proposed solutions
Rakausks calls for prioritizing the resilience of the power supply, establishing a unified crisis management and coordination mechanism between the state, municipalities and infrastructure operators, and considering a requirement for critical infrastructure operators and emergency services to use at least two telecom providers. He also mentions recent meetings with the transport minister and the Prime Minister, where concrete steps to strengthen network resilience during emergencies were discussed. The industry says it is ready to continue working with the Ministry of Transport on a comprehensive action plan.
