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“If fuel can’t be managed and data centres go offline, it would cause widespread call drops, internet outages, and service blackouts,” said an official at a mobile operator, preferring not to be named.

Contacted, Tanveer Mohammad, chief corporate affairs officer of Grameenphone, said operators are facing electricity and fuel shortages.

“The evolving situation calls for timely and targeted measures to sustain uninterrupted telecom services nationwide,” he added.

He said that to “proactively avoid disruptions to essential services for millions”, operators need government support to secure priority electricity for critical infrastructure, streamline fuel supply and ease fuel transport for emergency operations.

Md Emdad ul Bari, chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), said, “We have been trying to coordinate for over a month and have spoken to the telecom ministry and the energy ministry. In some places, there has been priority supply.” He acknowledged that some tower sites are facing low fuel supplies.

“The regulator will meet the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation tomorrow and other stakeholders later this week to improve fuel availability,” he said.