Globe not definite on return of cell signal in areas hit hard by Ondoy

The cell phone services of Globe Telecom Inc. in areas worst hit by tropical storm “Ondoy" may take a while to become fully restored, Menchie Cruz, Globe’s Corporate Communications head, said. "We do not have specific stats (statistics) at the moment nor have a definite time of full normalization but we have significantly brought back up services in a lot of areas already," said Cruz said in a text message to GMANews.TV late Sunday afternoon. Still, Cruz assured that they are working nonstop in restoring their services particularly in eastern Metro Manila, such as in the cities of Marikina and Pasig, which have been badly hit along with several towns in Rizal province. Despite service interruptions, Cruz said that Globe is involved in helping victims of storm Ondoy by offering their services to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration’s Libreng Tawag (Free Calls) program for victims who want to call their relatives overseas. "Globe is also involved in the larger relief operations via our donate-a-load services with Red Cross," Cruz added. On Sunday, Globe’s competitor, Smart Communications, Inc.’s Ramon Isberto said their generators that broke down in flood-stricken area cannot be replaced until the flood subsides. Isberto said Smart subscribers in Marikina, Antipolo, and various towns in Rizal might have to wait until Tuesday for Smart to restore its services. Isberto explained that when flood waters entered some of their facilities the company had no choice but to shut them down to avoid permanent damage. He added that congestion -- or the huge traffic of calls and text messages -- led to some breakdowns in services, but the floods were by far a bigger factor. - GMANews.TV