Globe Telecom said it has dispatched technical personnel to immediately restore network services affected by Typhoon Nina in some parts of Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Marinduque, Sorsogon, Masbate, Oriental Mindoro, and Quezon as of 12 pm Monday, Dec. 26.
Strong winds from Typhoon Nina that caused commercial power interruption and multiple fiber cuts resulted in temporary service disruptions especially in Albay and Camarines Sur.
Business continuity protocols including network redundancies have been activated to reduce the impact of service disruption to customers in the said areas, the Ayala-owned telco said.
Yoly Crisanto, SVP for corporate communications of Globe, said in a statement that at least six towers located in Camarines Sur (four towers) Albay and Marinduque were structurally affected, which will make full service restoration longer.
?The towers were reportedly damaged because of strong winds that ran up to 200 km per hour. Multiple fiber cuts were also reported from Pili to Legaspi,” Crisanto said.
“Based on our network team assessment, intermittent services were mostly caused by commercial power outages in the Bicol region. Generator sets for cell towers are now being used to allow customers to use basic telecommunications services such as calls and text messaging.”
Globe said technical teams have been deployed to make restoration efforts as soon as weather permits. The company said it is likewise coordinating with government agencies relating to deployment of relief operations in areas affected by the typhoon.
At the same time, the company said it has transmitted a total of 11 text messages, warning customers of potential dangers coming from typhoon Nina prior to its landfall.
According to Crisanto, the transmittal of the text messages was undertaken in coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) at no cost to consumers.
Crisanto said the mobile disaster alerts sent by Globe included critical information that communities at risk can use to prepare for and respond to disaster. She said Globe began transmittal of SMS alerts last December 24, at around 6 pm directed to customers in Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Northern Samar, warning them to take caution against dangers brought by the typhoon.
Globe said 10 more text messages were sent out, also directed in addition to the four provinces, to customers in Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Masbate, including Ticao and Burias island, Marinduque, Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Batangas, Romblon and Polilio island.
Globe sent out close to 11 million text messages, which were crafted by NDRRMC and relayed to Globe for transmittal, she added.
