WE all know that supertyphoon “Odette” cut a wide swathe in the Visayas and northern Mindanao, bringing entire villages to the ground, floods and landslides, destroying buildings and houses, killing more than a hundred people.
Among the debris are bits and pieces of telecommunication equipment, electric posts, perhaps disabled cellphone towers, and destroyed fiber facilities.
This is the reason for the lack of communication in provinces and cities devastated by “Odette,” among them Cebu, Samar, Leyte, Bohol, the Dinagat islands and Surigao.
Telecom firms are now repairing damaged networks in typhoon-hit areas. PLDT, Inc. and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. said they were working to restore their communication services in Surigao.
“We assure our customers that we are working round the clock to address service issues and reconnect more areas that have been severely impacted by (typhoon) 'Odette,'” PLDT said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Globe Telecom, Inc. said it extended a one-day unlimited text offer on all its networks to typhoon-affected customers on Dec. 18.
“The promo comes with unlimited calls to Globe and TM numbers only. Affected customers will also receive a free one-month subscription to KonsultaMD (a telehealth service provider) for their medical needs,” Globe said in a statement.
Meanwhile, fiber internet provider Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. temporarily closed its business centers in Mandaue City, Roxas City, Iloilo City, and Cagayan de Oro City. The company's network operations have been affected in the following areas: Iloilo, Capiz, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.
It takes time, money, and more personnel for the telcos to recover from the onslaught of "Odette," but they are taking on the challenge because their business is a public service that is considered very important by Filipinos.
There is also an advisory from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for public telecommunications entities and internet service providers to prepare for a surge in internet traffic during the holidays.
NTC Commissioner Gamaliel A. Cordoba said in a memorandum dated Dec. 17 that internet traffic is “projected to increase considerably” during the Christmas season.
One reason is that the Department of Health is encouraging the holding of Christmas parties virtually due to the Omicron coronavirus threat.
Cordoba said that from Dec. 17 to Jan. 7, telcos and internet service providers should observe a “heightened level of emergency preparedness.”
The directive instructs these firms to “ensure minimal disruption and downtime strictly complying with the prescribed service performance standards at all times.”
We believe the telecoms -- Globe, PLDT, Smart and Converge -- are ready and able to comply with this directive.
This is the reason why as a stock market participant, I am inclined to be an investor rather than swing trader in these stocks, $:TEL, $:GLO and $:CNVRG.
Hope this will be a very long relationship.