Masts removed: Bad Wildbad in radio silence – unplanned digital detox hits town
Months of radio blackout in Bad Wildbad: O2 and Vodafone users face almost no cell phone reception as the town struggles with a major outage.
(Image: Daniel AJ Sokolov)
The Federal Network Agency is reporting successes in the ongoing battle against dead spots in Germany. However, occasionally huge urban spots open up where there is suddenly no reception. Many residents and guests of the idyllic spa town of Bad Wildbad in the Black Forest can tell you a thing or two about this. The motto there has been for two months: Digital Detox forced in addition to thermal treatments & Co. because the mobile network of Vodafone and O2-TelefĂłnica collapsed without any real warning at the end of June.
The reason for the debacle was the dismantling of mobile phone masts on the chimney of a district heating plant, reports SWR. This was to be demolished. A new location was not found in time.
According to the report, local customers are stunned. Many are unable to terminate their contracts, even with a special right of termination, and complaints to customer service remain unsuccessful. One affected person, Thomas Händel, complained to the ARD broadcaster that his provider had not been able to detect any interference – because the radio mast simply no longer exists. For the locals, this feels like a return to the Stone Age – no cell phone navigation, no mobile payments, no quick calls while on the move.
Mobile operators in the picture for years
The city council feels helpless because network coverage is the responsibility of the mobile phone providers. The Baden-WĂĽrttemberg district heating company (FBW), owner of the property, had already informed the providers three years ago about the planned demolition of the chimney and the termination of the contracts.
The late reaction of the providers is completely incomprehensible to the municipality, which itself has 140 Vodafone contracts. Deputy Mayor Ursula Jahn-Zöhrens (SPD) assumes that Bad Wildbad is simply not on the network operator's priority list due to its small population.
TelefĂłnica admitted to SWR that it had not sufficiently informed the municipality and customers before dismantling the radio equipment. Vodafone also regrets the inconvenience. Both providers emphasize that restoring coverage is a top priority. However, they point to the difficult topography of the town, which is surrounded by wooded slopes, and the general problem of finding a site in Germany.
JĂĽrgen Schwarz, head of the local thermal baths, offered the mobile operators their own plots of land. So far, however, there has been no response. The city and FBW also claim to have suggested alternative sites.
Parking tickets: system not on reception
The radio silence is an economic fiasco for the municipality, which is dependent on tourism. Stefanie Bott from Touristik Bad Wildbad reports daily complaints, for example from hikers who get lost without cell phone navigation or hotel guests who cannot check in online.
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Irony of fate: shortly before the network outage, spa manager Schwarz had switched all employee contracts from Deutsche Telekom to Vodafone and now deeply regrets it. The Magenta Group does not operate its own mast in the city. It only provides coverage via surrounding antennas, which has so far led to poorer coverage than its two competitors. The lack of reception is also a safety risk for the pools: emergency buttons in the saunas, for example, do not work. Employees have now been equipped with walkie-talkies.
A small glimmer of hope: Vodafone has announced a mobile radio mast as an interim solution for the end of August. TelefĂłnica is also looking into such a solution. According to Vodafone, it could be years before a permanent location is found. At least there is one piece of good news for the locals: The city's parking ticket system also runs via Vodafone and is not really functional at the moment.
(mack)
