SMART’s bid to build cell sites in Binaliw, Guba, Bonbon okayed

WANTING to address “dead spots” in the mountain areas of Cebu City, Mayor Tomas Osmeña has announced the approval of the construction of cell sites in Barangays Guba, Binaliw, and Bonbon by telecommunication giant Smart.

In a Facebook post, Osmeña, quoting a text he received from the City’s Zoning Board, said that the cell sites in these hinterland villages might be functional by December, or two weeks from now.

“Hopefully, sa December, functional na. Naa niy signal ang mga barangay (These barangays will finally have a cell signal),” the text read.

Last March, Osmeña announced that the city government will be placing the applications of telecommunication companies to put up cell sites in downtown Cebu City on hold unless they promise to eliminate dead spots in the mountain barangays.

As of yesterday, Osmeña said the city government is requesting over 15 cell towers to be installed in the mountain barangays of the city.

“The City has requested over 15 cell sites to be put up in the mountain areas to help increase coverage and improve our responsiveness. Things are coming together well,” he added.

The mayor, in his earlier press conferences, said he had been receiving complaints from residents in the mountain barangays of the inconvenience they experienced due to dead spots in their area.

These included the difficulty of calling ambulances for emergencies as well as booking rides through ride-hailing application services such as Angkas.