The country’s two major telecommunication companies on Thursday morning reported service disruptions in areas directly affected by Typhoon Ulysses, particularly those without power.
“Due to strong winds of Typhoon Ulysses, there were multiple fiber cuts reported in selected areas in Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon and one in NCR [National Capital Region]. Despite these, the Globe network remains stable with no major damages incurred,” Globe Telecom Inc. said in an advisory.
Globe said that in Metro Manila, some areas experienced intermittent or no signal because of the prolonged loss of commercial power. “Clean energy fuel cells and generators deployed are powering up our cellsites given the current power challenges,” it said.
Globe said Camarines Sur in Bicol Region and Pampanga in Central Luzon were heavily affected with service disruptions.
“We will continue to provide service updates to our customers, while repairs for areas flooded will resume as soon as access and safety is secured,” Globe said.
PLDT Inc. and wireless subsidiary Smart Communications said the blackout in several areas also affected their telecom services.
Power retailer Manila Electric Co. said more than half of their customers were without power Thursday morning. Electricity was cut in flooded areas to avoid accidents, but this had affected communication between authorities and residents crying for help from their rooftops.
PLDT and Smart advised the public to take the necessary precautions and heed the advisories of government agencies.
“Our network personnel, resources and equipment have been prepositioned to work on sites affected by Typhoon Ulysses. Areas with commercial power failure have made it difficult for our subscribers to use their mobile data. Our teams are monitoring the situation and will work to restore services as soon as it is safe to do so,” said PLDT-Smart first vice president and group head of corporate communications Cathy Yang.
PLDT and Smart Stores were also temporarily closed in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan.
“We are likewise ready to provide Libreng Tawag, Libreng Charging and Libreng Wifi services where the public needs it most, once it is safe to do so,” PLDT said in a statement.
