The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) has announced that its mobile coverage will be downgraded at Diamond, on the East Bank of the Demerara, where one of its cell site towers collapsed across the East Bank Demerara highway.
The incident occurred at 3 am yesterday during a thunderstorm.
GTT Public Relations Officer Jasmin Harris yesterday told Stabroek News that the company was working to erect another tower in as fast a time as possible while an investigation was underway to assess the magnitude of the damage caused by the collapse and factors that contributed to it. She explained that while service has been downgraded, customers will still be able to communicate but would experience some delays in messaging and a slower data service. She nonetheless assured customers that the company was working to rectify the issue.
The tower landed across three lanes of the four lane highway. This resulted in a minor traffic jam yesterday morning. However, the tower was cleared off the road between 7 and 7.30 am, Harris said.
Additionally, electricity supply in the area was also disturbed as a result of the collapse.
Guyana Power and Light, in a statement yesterday morning, said, “Customers at Little Diamond, EBD were without power supply due to damage sustained to GPL’s infrastructure from the collapsed GTT Cell Tower at Diamond.”
Emergency crews were working to replant fallen poles, replace burst power lines and primary mains, the company said in a Facebook post.
