Telecommunications service provider, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Company, says it has been hit again by suspected vandalism, this time at Versailles, West Bank Demerara (WBD) which saw 500 customers’ service being disrupted.
“This latest case follows what can best be described as a clear case of sabotage which occurred at a canal crossing in proximity to the Lamaha Garden community, affecting over 4000 customers”, said the company in a statement yesterday.
It said that technicians investigating reports of lost service in Goed Fortuin, WBD, discovered a 600 pair overhead cable spanning the koker at Versailles, hanging. Closer examination revealed that approximately 120 feet of the cable had been vandalized with the remainder left hanging, the statement said. Work to have service restored to affected customers will begin today, it added.
The statement said that senior GT&T officials view the continuation of these acts as contributing negatively to efforts to deliver uninterrupted service to customers. “In all these cases, staff, who were scheduled to perform routine works including rolling out of service in other areas, including attending to routine customer faults, especially in cases where they have been waiting over the stipulated three days timeline, will have to be re-deployed to work on these emergencies”, the company said.
The statement said that GT&T views these recent attacks as a worrying trend, especially in light of the present drive to roll out its new Emagine high speed broadband DSL, following the operationalizing of the new Suriname-Guyana Cable System intended to open a range of new possibilities and experiences for internet users.
The company, has in the past, continually urged citizens in all areas where communication equipment has been deployed for their use, to be vigilant in the face of these acts by persons bent on causing them inconvenience, the statement said. It added that the need for vigilance is even greater at this time when many customers are demanding lightning speed data connections in their homes and offices. “The company will also continue to work with the security forces to bring an end to these acts of vandalism and sabotage”, the statement said.
