Globe to pay subscribers affected by downtime

JM TUAZON, GMA News

05/11/2011 | 11:51 PM

Telecommunications firm Globe Telecom on Wednesday said it will compensate subscribers affected by the fiber cut that downed its network in Visayas and Mindanao on Monday.

Through a post on its corporate blog, Globe said the company will give free calls, text messages, or mobile browsing services to customers affected by the disruption.

“Customers can expect to receive an SMS from Globe to avail themselves of the service no later than May 17, 2011," it said, without revealing specific details as to the amount of the rebate, or how it will determine the subscribers who will receive it.

As of Wednesday night, Globe said it has fully restored services in the affected areas, but did not disclose if the fiber cut has already been reinforced.

The company also did not say how it plans to compensate postpaid subscribers.

Consumer group TXTPower, meanwhile, welcomed the telco's move. “We look forward to the implementation of rebates as we in TXTPower and a number of others have suggested, to compensate all those affected by the VisMin fiber cut," Tonyo Cruz, the group's president, said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Cruz likewise urged the users and businesses in the Visayas and Mindanao regions to come forward and demand the rebates from Globe.

He likewise called on the National Telecommunications Commission to check up on the matter and ensure that the affected subscribers get their respective compensation.

“Last thing we want to know is that all these are all for show and that may happen if only a few are given rebates," he warned.

Globe suffered a major network outage on Monday which caused blanket service disruptions in whole provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao, allegedly due to strong undercurrents caused by tropical storm Bebeng.

It severed an undersea fiber cable serving as a backhaul link to its Visayas and Mindanao service areas, preventing subscribers from sending text messages, calling other phones, or browsing the Internet.

“Globe assures its subscribers that the service disruption was an isolated case which involved multiple fiber cuts. Initial findings indicate that one of the causes was weather-related," according to Globe. — PE/VS, GMA News