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The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) – Davao Region ordered Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. to explain in writing the reason for the signal disruption that occurred in the city of Davao and in some parts of Mindanao on Monday September 21st.
The director of NTC-Davao, Nelson Cañete, said in a radio interview on Wednesday, September 23, that he will deliver a circular memorandum addressed to both telecommunications companies for them to present a written explanation during the day on the technical reason for the interruption of the signal experienced by PLDT Home. and smart customers.
“They will explain the technical explanation. You know how much damage has been done. In the background there are no banks, ATMs, offline at all. Even the works [from] home, naa ra gyud sa home, wala’y work (They should explain the technical issues behind this. If only they knew how it brought inconvenience and damage due to that. There were no bank transactions. All ATMs and transactions were offline. Even those who worked from home had to abandon their job due to loss of signal, ”said Cañete.
The NTC official also said that students, especially those who were supposed to have exams, were among those severely affected by the service disruption.
Once the written explanations are sent to his office, Cañete said they will study and make recommendations for appropriate legal action.
The head of Consumer Experience of the PLDT Mindanao Area, Alan Abrina, on Tuesday, September 22, during the ordinary session of the XIX City Council, said that the degradation or loss of the call, text message and data services experienced in the Davao city was due to a cut in the fiber optic transmission line caused by construction work from other telecommunications providers and highway expansion projects in some parts of Mindanao.
Abrina said that PLDT Home and its subsidiary Smart Telecommunications Inc. experienced major outages due to various fiber optic outages.
He mentioned that the PLDT-Smart fiber optic transmission lines in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur and Barangay Lunocan, Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon, were cut due to separate construction activities.
The PLDT official explained in a presentation to the City Council that the interior and underwater connectivity of the PLDT Fiber Optic was seriously affected by the cut of the transmission line.
Abrina did not name the internet provider responsible for the outage.
This was also explained by Cañete when asked during the interview about the initial information they received. Meanwhile, he reminded telecommunications companies of their responsibility to ensure that their lines of communication are not hampered and that measures must be imposed to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
“Of course, whether it’s a franchise, you have a responsibility to take care of your line. Not because you put it there, so it’s okay, you just let it go (since they are given the franchise, it’s their responsibility to take care of their lines. not just put those cables there, and they would just leave it there), “he said.
The NTC official also pointed out the possibility of negligence on the part of PLDT. He said PLDT could have informed the contractor in advance that they have a buried fiber optic line in their base work area.
Cañete also reiterated his responsibility to ensure a stable internet connection, especially since most students and workers are staying home due to the current Covid-19 pandemic.
He also reminded them to update their signal as it is a basic need at this time of a pandemic.
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