People Bear Brunt of Fight Between Discom, Internet Providers in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Amidst growing tensions among cable operators and internet service providers (ISP) and the southern discom (TGSPDCL), many citizens complained of being asked for extra amounts from internet providers.

On August 19, the TGSPDCL started a drive to remove wires dangling from electric poles in the city, following the deaths of nine persons due to electrocution within a span of two days.

While this drive continues and unused wires from nearly two lakh of the 20 lakh electric poles in the city were removed, as claimed by the power department, internet users, especially the ones working from home have been facing the heat from private network service providers charging extra money, not issuing refunds, and defaulting showing bills incase a service provider complaints of internet outage.

Neha Jain, a resident of Mehdipatnam, who works at an international bank, told Deccan Chronicle that her internet service provider had cut off the connection despite the payment being made. On questioning the service provider about a refund, she received no response. “My internet connection was cut off ten days before the month ended. No refund was issued for this. When I tried flagging it, I received no response but a “bill due” notification on the app. Additionally, I incurred extra charges for delayed payment, something that was not earlier mentioned in the terms and conditions,” she said, adding that this has become a real source of distress.

This has not been an individual issue. Several others have taken it to platform X, flagging the problem.

One of the X users, Raj Dayal Naidu, said that the Internet has not been working for him for the past 16 days despite the payment. He was additionally asked to pay a bill of Rs 1,060 to restore services, failing which would lead to his account getting suspended. “The worst part is that at one point, even their chatbot, which is basically useless, stops working. Customer service puts us on hold for over 15 minutes. It feels like harassment,” he said.

On Saturday, over 10,000 cable and broadband service providers staged a protest at Indira Park against the cutting of overhead cables.

Protesters demanded that the drive be ceased immediately, as cable networks built over the last 35-40 years cannot simply be dismantled overnight, and that with better consultation, a more robust and long-term solution could be found.

However, the TGSPDCL argued that over the past 14 months, they have held six meetings with over 32 cable operators, asking them to join the drive in removing unused and bundled wires.

The discom said that the tangled state of cables also hampers its ability to identify unused or defunct lines. Cables, often stretched from poles or between buildings across live electrical lines, snap due to external factors and end up falling on power lines, triggering outages and accidents.

Internet service providers, in an attempt to restore connectivity for consumers, re-strung wires at several locations. However, TGSPDCL teams resumed removing them, citing ongoing changes to electrical feeders and load distribution.