Clearing of spaghetti wires in Cebu City. | PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has instructed telecommunication companies (telcos) to clear the wires damaged by Typhoon Odette and organize spaghetti wires that have caused problems in the city’s posts.
In a meeting with telcos, the mayor said he wants the debris of fallen telco posts, wires on the ground posing danger to residents, and low-hanging spaghetti wires hampering traffic movement removed or fixed before the city celebrates its charter day on February 24, 2022.
“We have cleared most parts of the city with debris from fallen trees and garbage. It is frustrating that we still see your (utility firms’) poles and wires still laid on roadsides, if not dangling dangerously to passersby,” said the mayor.
Rama will be issuing an Executive Order for the clearing of these wires that will define the mechanics to clear the spaghetti wires.
It is not clear if the city will be imposing penalties on telcos who fail to clean up their posts and wires.
However, the mayor has formed Task Force Ratsada that would handle the clearing of the telco wires to help the telcos in the clearing operations.
Retired Brigadier General Aderson Comar will be leading the task force to hasten the clearing. He appealed to the telcos to cooperate with the city government because they know how to fix their lines best.
“They know better whether these wires are live or dead. We would not want any untoward incident to happen to our personnel,” said Comar.
It can be noted that if the city government takes on the clearing for the telcos, this may affect the service of the telcos for a particular area, which is why they must be at the forefront for the clearing and restoration of the lines.
Engineer Edlin de Los Reyes, head of cable network engineering of Globe, said the company is still focused on the restoration of customers’ connectivity but claimed another team does the clearing.
Representatives of the telcos from Smart/PLDT and DITO also faced the City Council during the regular session on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, and explained that they have prioritized restoring connectivity to their subscribers following the damages they incurred in their cell towers and other infrastructure.
They said that restoration for wired services is taking a longer time compared to wireless services because of the sheer amount of damage caused by the typhoon.
However, the telco representatives assured the City Council that they are working on restoring connectivity for all their subscribers.
The Task Force Ratsada is already working as of January 22, 2022, with teams covering various streets in the city. They will be conducting these clearing operations regularly every weekend as part of the Enhanced Citywide Qualitative Health & Sanitation (ECQ-HS). /rcg
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