Telcos given 1 month to solve signal issues

CEBU, Philippines — Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has given one month for telecommunication companies to improve their communication lines in Camotes group of islands.

Garcia and representatives of two telcos, Globe and PLDT Smart, agreed to the timeframe during their meeting yesterday after residents and tour operators aired their gripe over the problematic cellphone signal in the islands.

This was raised by the resort owners and operators during the tourism stakeholders and operators meeting with the governor.

In fact, Garcia received word that there are some tourism destinations there where there's no cellphone signal at all.

“Ang atong number one problem ang communication like internet connection, landline kay mostly sa guests maski asa sila moabot mokatkat na sa lubi kay mostly sa mobakasyon naay business sa ilaha,” one of the operators was quoted as saying in a report by Sugbo News, the Capitol-run media outlet.

Camotes is one of the top tourist destinations in Cebu province. Since the province is now under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), tourism activities are already allowed but reservations must be made online.

“Ako gihangyo sila nga mo-focus sa atoang mga resorts and tourism activities kay karon online na ang payments,” Garcia said.

Jimmy Chua, AVP head of PLDT Enterprises Visayas, said they will look into the concern raised by the governor.

“Among i-check ang mga sites didto ug unsay mahimo nga upgrading kay naka-fiber naman na among mga cell sites, gamay na lang buhaton para mo kusog-kusog ang signal,” Chua said.

PLDT Smart currently has nine cell sites in the island. There's a plan to put up another tower but there are some land ownership issues that have to be fixed, thus, the project may have to take long before being realized. /KQD (FREEMAN)