TSTT Condemns Sabotage to Cellphone Service

Emergency crews from Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) were dispatched and worked throughout the night to restore cell coverage in the Maracas Bay area after the company?s fiber optic cable was maliciously cut on Friday at approximately 8:30pm.

Network surveillance teams detected an interruption in the links which serve the cell sites in the Maracas bay area. Upon investigation by technical and security crews, the fiber was found to be cut in what the company suspects was a deliberate and malicious attempt to hamper TSTT's ability to provide mobile service to its customers during a local festival being held the next day at Maracas Bay.

"The element of coincidence and growing number of incidents like these is too compelling to ignore," said Dennis Gordon Head of Security and Operational risk at TSTT. "On examining the fiber optic cable, there was clear evidence that the perpetrators sliced through the insulation, cut the actual fiber and then attempted to restore the insulation surrounding the cable, making the actual point of damage harder to detect." He further added that this incident was clearly separate from the recent spate of copper theft being inflicted on TSTT's network. "These fiber cables are clearly distinguishable from the copper cables across our network, so it is evident to us that theft was not the motive in this incident and the persons knew exactly what services were being affected by this action."

Posted to the site on 30th July 2007