Globe is calling upon the cooperation of the Department of Public works and Highways (DPWH) to minimize the incidents of accidentally cutting fiber lines that leads to the disruption of services of their customers.
There have been two separate incidents of DPWH accidentally affecting fiber coverage. On May 21, a Globe underground fiber line was damaged due the department’s soil testing at Agua Granded, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte These led to Globe customers in Cagayan, Apayao, Kalinga, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Cauayan City, and Tugegarao being affected.
A second incident happened just a day after due to a DPWH back hoe hitting an underground fiber linein the middle of pile driving activity at Butadon Bridge, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte. This led to paprts of Basilan, Sulu, Zamboanga Sibugay, Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, and Misamis Occidental experiencing service interruption.
“The growing incidence of fiber cuts is getting to be a major concern for us and we would like to appeal to DPWH and their contractors to be extra cautious in the execution of their projects to avoid recurrence of accidental cuts and damage to our cable facilities,” said Froilan Castelo, Globe General Counsel.
Aside from affecting Globe’s customers, cut lines may also affect delivery of government services including emergency response. In such an occasion, Globe is offering access to both 911 and 8888; the government’s emergency and complaint hotline, respectively. Globe subscribers can also access 2286 (BATO) text hotline to directly report incidents to the Philippine National Police.
