Another challenge now: damage to the telecommunications cables that connect cellphone antennas to the telecom network.

WSJ: Outages Expose Wireless Carriers' Backup Plans

The cables, owned by the Georgian Railway Telecom company, serve eastern Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

BBC: Internet cables

In this dismal context it is no wonder that a row has broken out in Italy, where control of Telecom Italia recently passed to Pirelli, a tyre and cables group.

ECONOMIST: European telecoms: Running for the exit | The

The company was working with telecom firm JT on the States-backed roll-out, connecting homes to fibre optic cables.

BBC: Jersey fibre roll-out jobs are 'at risk'