[www.inewsguyana.com] – Contractors and other persons involved in the execution of civil works are repeatedly disrupting GT&T’s telephony and data services across the country, the company said in a statement.
The utility company observed that sometimes this is done inadvertently and other time because contractors refuse to call before they commence excavations.
“The consequential damage to the company’s network infrastructure, especially our buried cables, is disruptive to our business, cost millions to restore, inconveniences our customers, undermines revenue generation, and can potentially compromise national security,” the statement added.
GT&T said over the recent months, several of its business customers who rely on our data service to transmit and receive “mission critical” data and information have been severely affected by service disruptions consequent upon excavation works by contractors and others who failed to ask whether buried cable was in the vicinity of the excavation site
“The road construction works on the East Bank of Demerara have occasioned repeated cable cuts, in excess of ten times since 2011, and is of tremendous concern to GT&T and inconveniences the company’s customers and the country at large.”
The most recent cable damage was done today by B.K International Inc. 13.5 km from Georgetown, just outside DDL Compound on the East Bank of Demerara. This resulted in disruption to GT&T and thousands of its customers in as far away as West Bank and West Coast of Demerara, East Bank Essequibo and the Essequibo Coast. Another fibre damage, also detected today, along the Soesdyke/Linden Highway resulted in the disruption of telephone service to numerous communities in Linden as well as Ituni, Kwakwani, Mahdia and Mabura.
GT&T wishes to place on record the severe negative impacts that these cable damages continue to have on the company and its customers, including the diversion of our finite technical and material resources away from our planned expansion programme works and routine installation and maintenance activities.
“This situation is not tenable, especially since it is compounded by acts of apparent sabotage and willful vandalism of the network… GT&T has an obligation to protect the integrity of the National Communications Infrastructure but we need the cooperation and assistance of all Guyana if we are to succeed.”
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