Globe says fiber cut caused signal disruption in Tacloban

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom’s limited mobile services in Tacloban City were disrupted for 3 hours on Tuesday, November 12 after one of its fiber cables was cut during DPWH’s road clearing and construction operations in Batangas.

Globe said a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contractor cut its fiber cable in Barangay Sambat in Padre Garcia, Batangas at 9:14 pm Tuesday. Globe’s signal in Tacloban is currently passing through a cable that goes to South Luzon. The city was using the one that goes to Cebu, but this was destroyed during Typhoon Yolanda (international codename Haiyan).

Globe, in a statement Wednesday, asked for extra precaution from the side of DPWH as it works to restore mobile phone services in areas ravaged by the typhoon.  

“Accelerated efforts by the company to restore cellular service in areas severely affected by the typhoon shouldn’t be thwarted by negligence of road work contractors especially during calamitous times,” the company said. The company was able to restore its signal in Tacloban Tuesday midnight.

More areas now with signal

Globe and Smart Communications continue to restore their services in more areas in Visayas.

Globe said that 60% of its cell sites damaged by Yolanda have been restored. In Visayas, 53% of 3G-enabled sites and 40% of 2G sites are now operational.

For its part, Smart said 83% of its affected cell sites are now reactivated. Palawan now has full coverage following the repair of facilities in Coron and Culion. Signal in Daan Bantayan, northern Cebu has also been fixed.

In Tacloban, which suffered a catastrophic blow from Yolanda, Globe said it mobilized cell sites “on wheels,” while Smart set up Internet connection through LTE.

Relief efforts

The telcos agreed to give out free text messages to subscribers in Visayas areas from November 13 to 17. (READ: From rivals to partners: Telcos offer free SMS in Yolanda-hit areas)

The free SMS will be sent at the start of the day, allowing subscribers to call their loved ones in the country and abroad.

No registration is required to avail of the service. The free credits may be used across all networks.

Smart is also offering free Twitter updates via SMS to those who are in hard-hit areas under a partnership with social networking and microblogging site Twitter. – Shadz Loresco/Rappler.com