Telcos ordered to speed up restoration of services in areas hit by Ulysses
MANILA, Philippines — The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered all public telecommunication entities to speed up the repair and restoration of services in areas severely hit by the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses.
In a memorandum issued on Thursday, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba directed telcos to immediately “accelerate the mobilization and transport” of their respective technical or service personnel and their equipment to the affected areas.
The NTC issued the directive upon the instruction of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) to fast track the repair and restoration of telecom services.
The telcos were also ordered to deploy “Libreng Tawag” and “Libreng Charging Stations” in strategic areas affected by the typhoon and were reminded to coordinate with local government units as well as to observe strict health protocols to prevent transmission of COVID-19.
The NTC also asked telcos to make a report to the commission every six hours on the status of “ongoing restoration activities being performed on your network and facilities and a timeline for full restoration of service.”
Typhoon Ulysses maintained its strength as five provinces in Luzon were placed under Tropical Wind Cyclone Signal No. 3 Thursday morning, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration said in its latest weather update.
