Telecommunications companies started clearing any entangled, dangling, and inactive wires in Benguet starting in the capital town of La Trinidad.
Board Member Joel Tingbaoen, Jr., head of the committee on public utilities, communication, transportation, Science and Technology, said the clearing was spurred by a provincial board resolution calling on these telecommunication firms to conduct clearing activity.
Tingbaoen said the companies are responsive as representatives from Benguet Electric Cooperative said the clearing would remove some of the weight from the electric poles that would sometimes cause it to fall.
Most of the telcos have partnered with Beneco to use its poles in connecting their wires that reach almost 13 towns in the province.
The telcos have set October as their deadline in clearing the stretch of Km. 3 to 6, and at Pico-Puguis-Poblacion area.
After the area, the telcos will conduct another meeting for their next route for clearing operation.
He said the telcos are removing dead and drop wires, including inactive wires especially from households that terminated their subscriptions from the companies.
“I am very grateful for their response and we hope that the clearing will continue from the various parts of the province,” Tingbaoen said.
He emphasized to the telcos the importance of communication, especially in this Internet era where most of the sources of information for school children and institutions are on the Internet.
He said the telcos have the responsibility to clear out the dangling and inactive wires, which is part of their mandate to ensure safety and continuation of their services to the community.
Earlier, the provincial board has passed a resolution requesting all the telecoms, namely Beneco, Globe Telecommunications, Inc., Bayantel, Dito Telecommunity Corp., Converge ICT Solutions Inc., PLDT, Digitel/Pitel/Smart Communications Inc., Mountain View, Sky Cable, Eastern Communications, and Wuhan Fiber Home International to clear the dangling, entangled and inactive wires within Benguet.
Tingbaoen said the provincial board earlier presented to the telcos if the underground cabling system is possible in the province.
Representatives from Beneco stated the cost of the underground cabling system is too expensive.
Also, some of the telcos said the residential buildings and underground facilities in the localities are not ready yet for underground cabling system. – Ofelia C. Empian
