Catalan town and city councils have used the Generalitat’s TelcoCat telephone channel to manage 459 incidents involving mobile coverage, broadband and digital terrestrial television (DTT) during its first nine months of operation.

The service gives registered local authorities a direct route to participating telecoms operators during large-scale outages. For residents and local businesses affected by a widespread loss of connection, their Ajuntament can use the channel to seek information and coordinate an update rather than relying solely on standard operator contact routes.

The Generalitat announced the service on Sunday 19 October 2025, stating that it would begin operating on Monday 20 October. It is available every day from 7am until midnight and is reserved for mayors and authorised local-government contacts.

Direct channel between councils and operators

Under the TelcoCat protocol, the Generalitat, local authorities and private telecommunications operators work through a single central telephone number for major connectivity and mobile-phone failures.

Each Ajuntament can register up to three contacts. Those contacts are connected to priority customer-service teams set up by the operators, allowing councils to request information and coordinate their response to an incident.

  • The channel operates from 7am to midnight, every day.
  • It is for mass telecommunications incidents, including mobile, broadband and DTT disruptions.
  • Around 20 operators and organisations had joined the TelcoCat protocol when the service was launched, according to the Generalitat.

The 459 cases recorded in the first nine months cover incidents across all three services: mobile coverage, broadband and DTT. The figure is not limited to mobile-phone outages.

What residents can do during an outage

The TelcoCat number is not a public helpline. Residents who believe their area is affected by a large-scale mobile, internet or DTT outage can contact their Ajuntament to ask whether the council has reported the disruption through TelcoCat and whether it has received an update from the operator.

Primary sources: govern.cat, ${rpb.dspace.name}, presidencia.gencat.cat. Reported by lavanguardia.com, ARA, Àngels Piñol, europapress.es, Alfonso Muñoz Fernández, Quim Bertomeu, Goretti Martinez, Alfonso L. Congostrina, Josep Catà Figuls, David Expósito J, Ramón Muñoz, ara.cat.