According to a press conference held in Nassau, the electronic crash was a result of a cut cable by a construction worker who mistakenly sliced through a fibre optic cable.
And while officials of BTC request patience from the public to fix the national glitch, GSM subscribers on Grand Bahama say that the phone situation is a total inconvenience.
“It is an absolute disadvantage to me because I am a business woman and I need my phone to operate my business. It is very inaccessible,” said one irate customer.
“I can call land phones, but besides that, I cannot do anything else. I can’t even find out about my account.
“It is just ridiculous that BTC is having phone problems and can’t properly tell you when it will actually be fixed.”
The annoyed customer revealed that after numerous contacts to BTC for updates on the status of the service, her attempts were carelessly being tossed aside.
“They must not understand that this is how I live. The least they can do is give you some update on the service instead of an unhelpful ‘I don’t know.'”
GSM subscribers are also furious with claims of a functioning service which they say is absolutely untrue.
“I listened to an announcement by a BTC official saying that the phone service was restored after malfunctioning. That is a bold face lie,” said an angry subscriber.
“My GSM service is still not working and this is just alarming to me. I wish they had another phone service provider here.
“That way BTC can learn to actually work hard at giving their customers the best service. They need that competition to tighten up,” he said.
The GSM customer said that he is enraged about the reports that say the phone systems are back up because it is misleading.
“They gave me false hope when I got the news that my GSM phone was back and working. I was so disappointed to know that it was untrue. The phones need to be back on.”
With frustrated customers at their wits end, BTC officials remain adamant about their quest to correct the massive problem.
Tellis Symonette, Vice President of Wireless and Internet Services for BTC had said in the press conference that the government-run corporation was working fiercely to eliminate the problem.
Yet with no word on the status of the GSM systems, customers remain baffled with their failed services.
“What is the purpose of having a cellphone if you can’t use it in case of an emergency?” questioned another female GSM user.
She said that she is upset with her cellphone provider because she is paying for a service that is not doing its job.
“If I were to be stranded, the phone would be completely useless to me. BTC needs to get with it because this is such an inconvenience to us all.”
By TAMARA DELANEY, Freeport News Reporter
