The Tribune

CABLE Bahamas teams have been working around the clock to advance restoration efforts on Grand Bahama since Hurricane Matthew left the island devastated in October, the company said, adding that it hopes to have all areas restored by the end of this month.

This effort has proven to be “more extensive and complex than initially anticipated,” but Cable Bahamas said that technical teams continue to work relentlessly toward full restoration on the island.

“There are currently 13 teams in the field working to reconnect REV customers, with an additional seven teams expected to arrive on island this week,” the company said.

“These crews, complete with personnel from New Providence and affiliate companies in Florida, are focused on repairing downed lines and fibre feeds, and improving signal quality across the island.

“This week, Cable Bahamas technicians are expected to complete fibre installation in Queen’s Cove, where the company experienced widespread damage to its infrastructure. Work is also ongoing to repair nodes that were severely damaged by Hurricane Matthew. Services have presently been restored to 75 per cent of the neighbourhoods that were impacted by the hurricane.

“Crews are working relentlessly to complete the remaining areas by the end of December,” the company said.

Teams are also focused on repairing and replacing cable lines running to customers’ homes in various neighbourhoods.

The company expects this extensive work to be completed in early January.

Chief Operations Officer John Gomez noted that Cable Bahamas’ restoration effort is a huge undertaking that has demanded, and still requires, hundreds of man-hours to complete.

He explained that several neighbourhoods required a complete network rebuild following the hurricane, and while crews have completed construction in Bahama Reef, The Ridge, South Bahamia and East Grand Bahama, some households in these areas are yet to be restored due to a number of factors, including noise in the signal.

“As part of our restoration process, our ground teams are following the teams that have reconstructed the network to inspect the nodes neighbourhood by neighbourhood to ensure signal quality is stable,” Mr Gomez said. “Our teams are mandated to provide a one-stop service, which means they are checking everything - exterior lines, internal lines, and signal quality - to ensure our customers have no further need for another technical visit.”

Mr Gomez said: “We understand everyone is seeking to have their service return to normal.

“We also understand the importance of staying connected with loved ones and enjoying the comforts and services you have been accustomed to and are paying for. To this end, we are working aggressively to ensure your REV services are restored. We know which neighbourhoods have signal issues and we are addressing this by working our way through every neighbourhood, restoring dropped lines that may have been missed and balancing signal to ensure your services are optimised.”

Customers with inactive or intermittent REV services are asked to contact Cable Bahamas via Facebook at www.facebook.com/GetRevdUp, by e-mail at info@cablebahamas.com, via the company’s web site at cablebahamas.com, or by phone at 602-8800 or 1-242-300-2200 (toll-free).