Malaga villages isolated after five days without phone or internet coverage

Residents of Alfarnate and Alfarnatejo, the two highest altitude villages in the Axarquía area of Malaga province, have been without landline, mobile phone or internet connection since Friday 23 January due to a problem with the Vodafone and Movistar networks. The incident affects a combined population of around 1,400 inhabitants, who are currently experiencing "real distress", according to what their mayors have told Diario SUR.

The mayor of Alfarnate, Juan Jesús Gallardo, has denounced the direct impact that the lack of communication is having on daily life in the village, especially among the elderly. "We are indignant. Shops, pharmacies, restaurants and even the town hall cannot function," he explained, adding that the problem occurs frequently. "We go four or five days without internet practically every month. We have been like this for two or three years," he said.

The breakdown in communications has led to the interruption of basic services such as the local surgery, telecare for the elderly, ATMs and banking services, the school, shops, the petrol station and fuel supplies. According to the town hall this situation poses real risks to healthcare and safety, as well as causing significant economic and social damage in a rural area with no alternatives.

Alfarnate town hall has reported that the incident has been located and is due to a failure during the execution of scheduled work on the transport network, which has caused a general disruption to the service. The town hall says it reported the problem as soon as councillors "became aware of the problem" and is monitoring the situation continuously until it is completely resolved.

Mayor of Alfarnatejo, Daniel Benítez, has also confirmed that his village has been in the same situation since Friday. "It's absurd," he said, repeating the words of his counterpart that "we've had a few of these already"

Both town halls say that no clear information or specific timeframe for restoration has been provided so far, which is increasing concern among the population. "The situation is becoming unsustainable for the village," said the mayor of Alfarnate, who is calling for "structural solutions and not temporary fixes".

This newspaper has tried, without success so far, to obtain an official assessment from Movistar, while Vodafone has also failed to provide detailed information on the repair work.

The latest service outage once again highlights the digital divide suffered by rural municipalities in Malaga province, where the lack of reliable telecommunications infrastructure exacerbates isolation and hinders access to essential services.