Telecom operators suffered losses of “tens of millions of euros” due to Storm Kristin

The series of storms that swept across the country earlier this year also left a trail of destruction in the telecommunications networks. Two months after Storm Kristin, there are still Portuguese people without landline connections, with Meo and Vodafone reporting that repairs are not expected to be completed until the end of April. Between compensation for service interruptions and the restoration of severed fibre-optic lines, Nos is still assessing the damage, but admits, in statements to ECO, “that the financial impact will be significant and will amount to millions of euros”. Meo, meanwhile, speaks of a “total estimated impact of tens of millions of euros”.

For several thousand customers in the worst-affected areas, Wi-Fi, television and telephone services may remain down until the end of April. Meo indicates that 3.8% of customers are without a network. Data from Nos provided to ECO points to 2.5% of fixed-line customers whose service has yet to be restored. Vodafone, meanwhile, does not reveal how many customers remain without service, admitting, however, that it is in the fixed-line service where “the greatest difficulties are concentrated”.

If the operators’ estimates prove accurate, some customers may emerge from this nightmare having suffered three months of disruption to their landline service (the three companies state that the mobile network has been restored, whilst Digi has not responded to ECO’s questions). In unison, the telecommunications companies have been assuring customers that they are automatically deducting the days during which the service was unavailable from bills, as required by law.

And what does the Electronic Communications Act say? “Whenever, for reasons not attributable to the end-user, any of the publicly available electronic communications services, (…) contracted by the end-user, remains unavailable for a period exceeding 24 hours, whether consecutive or cumulative within a billing period, the company providing the services must, regardless of any request from the end-user to that effect, credit the amount equivalent to the price that would have been due by the end-user for the provision of the service during the period in which it remained unavailable.”

To this end, the law states that “the 24-hour period referred to in the preceding paragraph is counted from the moment the company becomes aware of the service outage or receives notification from the end user”. Customers are also entitled to a refund of any costs they have incurred as a result of the service outage. After 15 days of disruption, they are entitled to terminate the contract, even if a loyalty scheme is in place, “at no cost”. What is not provided for in the law is any compensation or reimbursement.

Nos acknowledges “indemnities or compensation”

Nos’s Integrated Report for 2025 was published last week, but it is not intended for the general public. It is a document designed for shareholders and investors, providing them with an overview of the business for the year in question, prospects for the future and other matters relating to the group’s internal affairs. Although it occurred back in 2026, the storm system is not overlooked in the document.

“As at the date of approval of these financial statements, the group is conducting a detailed assessment of the extent of the damage and the respective operational and financial impacts” of the series of storms, it states.

Among the costs the company admits it will incur are those for “repair and replacement of network assets”, a “temporary increase in operating expenses”, and “potential loss of revenue resulting from temporary service interruptions and possible limitations on service provision”, but that is not all. The Nos report also opens the door to costs relating to “compensation or indemnities to customers, under contractual, legal or regulatory obligations”.

When contacted on this matter, an official spokesperson for Nos stated that “the company has been and will continue to proactively compensate its customers for the days during which the service was unavailable, in accordance with current legislation. This compensation is automatically credited to customers’ accounts on the bill following the restoration of service”. Nos also states that “this information has been communicated to customers in advance via text message”.

As for the assessment of losses, Nos has for the first time put forward an estimate in the region of “millions of euros”. “At this moment, we are continuing to work with hundreds of field staff to restore service to all our customers. In a second phase, our focus will be on ensuring the network is fully restored to pre-storm levels. We already have an idea that the financial impact will be significant and will amount to millions of euros, but first we must complete our recovery operations, with the costs being borne by Nos.”

Meo admits impact of “tens of millions of euros”

ECO put the same questions to the other operators. An official source at Meo replied that, “following the extreme weather events recorded in January and February, it was severely affected by a very significant level of destruction to its telecommunications networks and infrastructure, with damage to around 2,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable, 28,000 poles and 47 mobile network towers”.

“Added to this impact are extraordinary operating costs, notably due to the intensive use of generators, as well as commercial effects associated with the temporary suspension of services in the affected areas, totalling tens of millions of euros”, states the Altice group company.

In addition, the company says it “has had hundreds of professionals on the ground from the outset, working in coordination with local authorities, civil protection, energy operators and local bodies, and has decided to extend support measures for customers still affected until services are fully restored”. “These measures include unlimited mobile data, access to Meo Go outside the home and alternative connectivity solutions, notably via 4G routers and, in specific situations, satellite solutions”, it adds.

Vodafone stated: “It is not yet possible to accurately quantify the financial impact and the investment required as a result of the bad weather. The priority has been to ensure operational recovery and support for customers.”