UNESCO World Heritage Site Gets Mobile Phone Coverage

The Philippines based, Smart Communications has recently activated a cell site in Banaue, one of eleven towns in the province of Ifugao, a land-locked area at the foot of the Cordillera mountain range in North Luzon. The area is home to the world-renowned Banaue Rice Terraces. Tourists flock from all over the country and all over the world to view the agricultural feat that was declared in 1998 by the American Society of Civil Engineers as the eighth engineering wonder of the world and inscribed by the UNESCO World Heritage List as a living cultural landscape.

The "Stairway to the Sky" is reportedly best seen from Viewpoint Six, some four kilometers from Banaue, because it is where Ifugaos come in full tribal regalia to pose before the fabulous panorama. The Ifugaos had painstakingly carved out the tiers of rice fields from the mountainside with their bare hands for over 3,000 years.

What draws tourists, aside from the awesome view, are the traditions and culture of the Ifugaos, which are preserved and manifested in their way of life. In the heart of Banaue is Tam-an, a typical Ifugao village where woodcarvings and hand-woven products, traditional products of the people of the area, can be bought at reasonable prices. The influx of tourists has caused Banaue to shift from agriculture to tourism-related livelihood such as the mass production of wood carvings and the establishment of lodgings and restaurants. Thus, the presence of SMART's GSM cell site is expected to boost commerce and tourism in the area.

SMART also powered a cell site in the neighboring province of Benguet to serve the needs of residents of Mankayan, the "Copper town of Benguet" and site of Lepanto Mines. Some portions of Barangay Abatan in the neighboring town of Buguias also benefit from the communication facility. Although its main activity is mining, Mankayan is one of 13 towns that make up the "Salad Bowl of the Philippines". Major crops include white potatoes, Baguio beans, peas, strawberries, cabbage, lettuce and carrots.

SMART, in line with government's thrust to provide telephone lines in remote and far-flung areas, has been installing GSM cell sites in upland barangays. In the Cordilleras, Smart has put up cellsites in Kalinga, Bontoc and Sagada areas. The leading wireless service provider also came up with SMART Link, an affordable and quick-to-deploy satellite phone system, to provide wireless communication in areas not falling under GSM coverage."

Posted to the site on 10th March 2003