Communication signals in areas hit by super typhoon "Lawin" (international name: Haima) have yet to be fully restored as the repair of power lines is still ongoing, a telecommunications executive said Friday.
"Not all cell sites have their own power. We are also dependent on the restoration of power for the full restoration of our services," Smart Telecom Public Affairs head Mon Isberto said.
The provinces that are affected by unstable Smart signals as of Friday morning are Cagayan, Mountain Province, Apayao, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur, Isberto said.
"While our service crew are working round-the-clock to fix communication lines, we have prepositioned charging stations and sattelite phones that can be used for free calls in areas affected by the storm," he said.
DZMM tried to get an update from Globe Telecom as of 9 a.m. Friday, but they declined to give a statement about the status of their network repairs in typhoon-hit areas.
Meantime, Senator Grace Poe wants to probe why disaster agencies and telecommunication companies fell short of sending mobile disaster alerts to effectively warn residents of the impacts of super typhoon Lawin.
Under Republic Act 10639, in the event of impending calamities, mobile phone service providers are mandated to send out emergency alerts at regular intervals.
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