The Telecommunications Company of Cuba (ETECSA) reported that more than 48 hours after Hurricane Rafael's passage, there are still serious disruptions in the communications system in Artemisa, Mayabeque, and Havana.
In the province of Artemisa, the Cuban territory most affected by the storm, the greatest disruptions in telecommunications are concentrated in the unavailability of 65% of mobile services and 48% of fixed services.
In total, more than 440 radio bases are out of service, which represents 62% of the sites in the three affected provinces (in addition to Artemisa, there are Mayabeque and Havana), reported the state newspaper Granma.
Similarly, damage has been reported in over 250 integral cabinets supporting 52,000 landline services, leaving thousands of users without a connection.
The recovery of services is facing challenges due to the lack of energy and damage to the access network, which is vulnerable to weather events.
ETECSA highlighted that progress has been made in trimming cable routes and repairing affected poles, with support from brigades in Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Villa Clara, and Ciego de Ávila to expedite the restoration of services.
In response to this situation, ETECSA implemented commercial measures such as extending payment deadlines for fixed-line services and Nauta Hogar nationwide.
Currently, 60% of the commercial offices in the affected provinces are operational, and support is being provided to the population by charging devices in the available facilities.
The main damage caused by Rafael as it swept through western Cuba was not only to the telecommunications infrastructure but also included cuts to fiber optic cables.
Additionally, two mobile phone towers were reported down in the municipalities of Mariel and Guanajay, and fixed and mobile services in the municipality of Güira de Melena were completely interrupted due to fiber cuts in areas near telecommunications centers.
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