Before Irma, even if a handful of companies offered satellite solutions, the majority of fixed internet customers opted for ADSL over the telephone lines.
In Saint-Martin, 80% of the network common to the various operators (Dauphin Telecom, Orange, Canal + Telecom and Digicel), used the overhead network of the incumbent operator installed on telephone poles, or low voltage EDF or public lighting. But Irma destroyed 50% of this air network through which ADSL passed.
If the underground network has been spared, Orange decided unilaterally in early December not to redeploy its overhead network and focus on installing fiber optics. This is why, from Irma, a large part of the population is deprived of the Internet because no operator is able to open a line or request a line repair from Orange.
Before the entire population is connected to the fiber, we will have to be patient. Dauphin Telecom has already deployed 300 kilometers of fiber around the French side. "The Aventura (Hope Estate) and Pic Paradis (above the Loterie Farm) zones are connected, and we are developing that of Bellevue," says Dauphin Telecom, adding that it works with land developers and real estate agencies to deploy the fiber. as much as possible in residences under construction. Since Orange repaired some damaged distributors, the luckiest residents can reopen their line and benefit from an ADSL connection. To find out if they are eligible, they must go to their operator so that an advisor performs an eligibility test on their sector.
The various operators have implemented transitional solutions to allow their customers who are not eligible for the reopening of their ADSL line, to benefit from an internet service without a telephone line. They therefore offer 4G "wireless" routers with monthly subscriptions. In a few months, Dauphin Telecom and Orange will set up other 4G radio frequencies to improve speed and coverage, which will allow access to fixed 4G with a speed of more than 5 megabits per second and a volume of data. unlimited. For Dauphin Telecom "in a way, Irma will ultimately be positive in the sense that the hurricane gave the boost necessary for the installation of the fiber which would have taken a long time to set up and will allow to open up the island much faster than expected and thus reduce the digital divide ”. (More details on www.soualigapost.com)
8,128 total views
No comments