The National Telecommunications Commission appealed to the local government units and homeowners associations to allow the entry of telco frontliners to ensure uninterrupted internet connection in the country during the enhanced community quarantine period.
“I appeal to LGUs and homeowners to allow the entry of our telco frontliners into their communities to ensure that we will have a dependable internet connection in the coming days,” said NTC Commissioner Gamaliel A. Cordoba in a statement, explaining that connectivity is critical in helping Filipinos cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Telecommunications now serve as one of our lifelines. Having internet at home or mobile data allows us to keep updated with the COVID-19 crisis, and helps us get connected with our loved ones. Online grocery or food shopping, banking, study, consultation with medical experts, and entertainment are also some of the vital uses of the internet today,” Cordoba added.
Now on its fifth week, the ECQ implementation has recorded a surge in residential data traffic by over 40% according to a telco executive.
Given the spike in internet demand in residential areas, Cordoba deemed “having steady and efficient internet access in the coming weeks to be absolutely necessary.”
The NTC chief made the appeal after receiving reports from different telcos that their technical field frontliners tasked to do repair works on fixed broadband access cabinets were being refused entry by personnel of LGUs and gated villages due to the community quarantine.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the COVID-19 pandemic already clarified that personnel from telecommunication companies are exempted from stay-at-home order to ensure that telco services- voice calls, SMS, and mobile data- are uninterrupted.