Indonesia has restored 86% of mobile phone base stations after the earthquake

Indonesia had restored 86 percent of base transceiver station (BTS) sets affected by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara, Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said.

The figures, published by ANTARA, came from Hafid's official statement released in Jakarta on Sunday. Ministry data showed 794 BTS sets across 11 districts and cities were impacted, with about 683 restored and 111, or 13.98 percent, still under repair.

"Since the earthquake struck, the Ministry and telecommunication operators have continually monitored network recovery in the affected areas. We will continue to oversee this recovery process until all services return to normal, particularly in areas still experiencing disruptions," Hafid said. The ministry said it was expediting repairs, especially in areas with a high number or percentage of damaged sets.

Industry assessments found that 701 BTS sets were disrupted mainly because of power failures, while 93 had transmission network disruptions. Hafid said communications networks in disasters help people stay connected, receive information, access emergency services and coordinate aid, making network recovery "a critical part of post-disaster mitigation."

Telecommunication services had been restored in Alor, Lembata and North Central Timor districts. Eight districts remained in recovery, with offline BTS sets including 32 in East Manggarai, 27 in Manggarai, 19 in Nagekeo, 11 in Ende, 10 in Ngada, seven in Sikka, four in West Manggarai and one in East Flores.

Hafid urged the public to prioritize safety and rely on official information from BMKG, local governments and disaster mitigation agencies. National Disaster Management Agency data showed that, as of Monday evening, the quake had killed 68 people, injured 213 and displaced about 9,000 residents.