Residents of the Volgograd Region reported problems due to mobile Internet shutdowns

Problems related to the increased frequency of mobile internet outages arise when paying in stores, calling a taxi, working, and trying to contact relatives. In some areas, there is no mobile internet for a long time, residents of the Volgograd region said. The authorities called for understanding of the situation.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on August 13, the Ministry of Defense reported that 11 drones were shot down in the Volgograd region overnight. Drone debris fell on the roof of a 16-story building on Opolchenskaya Street in Volgograd, the residents of the building were evacuated, but during the day the authorities allowed them to return to their apartments. Governor Andrei Bocharov said that as a result of the drone attack, an oil spill and fire occurred at the Volgograd Oil Refinery. Drone debris fell in the south of Volgograd, the roof of one of the hospital buildings caught fire, and a fire broke out on the territory of an oil refinery.

In August, periods of full or partial restrictions on the provision of Internet services to the population became more frequent in the Volgograd region. The regional and city administrations cite the reason for the outages as attacks by Ukrainian UAVs on strategic enterprises located in the regional center. The attacks became more frequent in July and August. Today, “temporary restrictions” on flights were introduced at the Stalingrad airport. The regional administration calls on the region’s population to be understanding of such restrictions related to “ensuring comprehensive security.”

Olga Sinitsyna works as an administrator at a dance club in Volgograd. Frequent disconnections of mobile Internet have become a problem in her work.

 "We accept payments via the Internet. We don't take cash. And this has been a problem all summer. Clients can't pay on time. We often get stuck with payments," Olga said.

 School teacher Tatyana Ivanova lives in the Central District of Volgograd. Her elderly parents live in the Krasnoarmeysky district of the city and suffer from chronic diseases.

 "We are in constant contact with them. Sometimes it happens that we have to call an ambulance or go to their rescue ourselves if a utility problem arises. We haven't had a landline phone for a long time. That's why when the mobile Internet is disconnected, we start to panic. Communication with our parents and their neighbors is completely interrupted," said Tatyana.

She is sure that such disconnections, no matter how noticeable they are for the population, are necessary.

"This is a measure to ensure our safety. We understand this. We want to agree with friends who live near our parents that if there are such communication disconnections, they should go and visit our old people," the woman noted.

 Resident of the village of Trehostrovskaya, Ilovlinsky district Svetlana Surkova told the journalist that there has been no mobile Internet in the village since June 4. Only wired internet and regular telephone service are working.

 "People are installing home internet. The phones only have minutes, no internet. I'm calling the Beeline operator right now. Due to the lack of internet, they are giving a 30% discount on the tariff. The village administration has a landline phone. Communication with emergency services is not interrupted due to the lack of internet," Surkova said.

"I don't experience any particular inconvenience due to these outages. I rarely appear on social networks. I always pay in cash in stores and on public transport. I don't order a taxi, I have a car. This is a problem for those, for example, who have friends and relatives abroad - they communicate mainly via WhatsApp*, Telegram or Signal. I don't have anyone there. So it's not a problem at all," said a utility service employee who introduced himself as Evgeny.

Student Dmitry Gureev lives in Volzhsky. He actively uses the Internet to prepare for seminars, communicate on social networks and pay for goods and services.

 "Of course, such outages get on your nerves. Yesterday (August 18) it was impossible to communicate via calls on Telegram and WhatsApp*. The connection was terrible. During outages, you can't buy anything in stores without cash. Of course, cards, there, QR - nothing works. You can't order a taxi either. My father can't pay for parking in the city. And now you can't find a free parking space there. "Well, we're switching to cash," the student was indignant.

Information appeared on social networks that Volgograd resident Alexey Serdobintsev was fined 2,500 rubles for unpaid parking. That day, mobile communications and mobile Internet in the city were disconnected due to the arrival of the heads of Russia and Belarus. Alexey was unable to pay for an hour of parking either via SMS, or via a mobile application or online banking. They did not work. Serdobintsev challenged the protocol for unpaid parking. But the court refused him, journalist Andrey Koshik reported on his Telegram channel.

Lawyer Sergey Ivaschenko told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" what actions should be taken in such cases.

"You need to write a statement to the court and provide the following documents: a copy a decision on an administrative offence and a penalty notice for payment of a fine, evidence that the payment was made within the specified period after the parking debt arose (for example, a payment receipt) or evidence that the payment was impossible due to the lack of internet and communication (a copy of the mobile operator network status report and a copy of the SMS or error message in the payment system). It is also necessary to prove that the violation is insignificant,” the lawyer listed the main evidence base.

“If there is no sane documented evidence on hand that the driver was physically unable to pay for parking, then there is no point in going to court - you will only incur legal costs in vain,” noted Sergei Ivaschenko.

* the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.