On Sunday, Digicel managed to restore the majority of its mobile service in Haiti. The company said its network is now functioning well in Port-au-Prince with more and more customers connecting to it and being able to make and receive calls, text messages, email and BlackBerry Messenger messages.
A full assessment of the network has been carried out and the situation is as follows:
- All of Digicel’s three switch sites which serve the country are operational. One is damaged but an interim solution has been put in place until new equipment arrives
- 70% of the network’s cell sites are on air. We are working on restoring service to the remaining 30%
- Roaming is fully operational
- There is still some congestion on the network when making and receiving international calls
- An assessment of what network equipment is required has been completed and new equipment has been ordered and is en route to Haiti
- More teams of technicians have been assembled and are en route to support the existing teams on the ground.
The good news follows days of frustration as the company found itself unable to airlift emergency repair gear into Haiti from its headquarters in Jamaica due to congestion at the airport in Port-au-Prince.
Digicel is now giving each and every Digicel customer in Haiti US$5 of free call credit — totaling US$10 million — so that they may be in contact with friends and family.
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