Go apologises for submarine cable break-down
The revamped GO outlet in Valletta.
GO plc today apologised for the failure of a submarine cable which yesterday left thousands of internet users without access to overseas sites. The failure was caused by third-parties in Sicily.
“We apologise to the Maltese public for this incident which left many without broadband-related services, international voice traffic, and roaming. It was the first time that such an extensive outage occurred in these many years that the cable has been in place,” group chairman Sonny Portelli said.
“This incident confirms the strategic importance of the decision taken by the company’s board of directors and which was announced in January of this year to invest in our own second submarine cable to Sicily which will have a totally different landing route and we will be utilising a different provider - Interoute. This project, which is estimated to be completed by the end of the year, is of national importance and will provide resiliency and backup in such instances.
“As a result, GO will be the only telecoms provider in Malta to have two submarine cables to mainland Europe, and our cables will constitute 50 per cent of the four cables mentioned by the government which should be up and running by 2010.”
On behalf of the company, Mr Portelli thanked all GO personnel who yesterday were involved in restoring all services back to normal.
The comments were made when Mr Portelli, GO CEO David Kay and Valletta Mayor Alexiei Dingli officially inaugurated the revamped GO outlet in South Street, Valletta.
Mr Portelli said the outlet showcased the company’s commitment to deliver top-quality service to its customers.
“We have seen how the first quad-play retail outlet in Birkirkara has been a major success. Likewise, we want to extend this quad-play experience to many more outlets in the coming months.”
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In Discussion
11 Comments
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Karen Borg
Aug 8th 2008, 10:27
And what about compensation for the loss of business? A free day of internet (which by the way is not being offered) is not even close to adequate!
vince agius
Aug 7th 2008, 22:59
Accidents happen. But Go should do what serious companies do...give a free day for us internet on the house. After all we pay for service for every single day.
apgrech
Aug 7th 2008, 22:38
@Stephen Spiteri: Such accidents can happen to anyone and no one is happy about them. We can have a power failure if a transformer blows up - telephone line problems - a flood which prevents people from going to work, etc.
It is an unfortunate situation that I'm sure Go people are not happy about it neither.
Stephen Spiteri
Aug 7th 2008, 21:44
@ Apgrech + Lawence Bonello,
with so much business carried out with the European mainland, I think this is not acceptable at all, especially given the high levels of technology today. If you were happy with the Strowger days, kindly remain so yourself, but now we are light years ahead.
Here we're talking credit cards, internet, fax, and telephony, all vital to keep in touch with the rest of the world.
No, I feel this is not acceptable in this ay and age.
Anyway, if you default on payment by one day, you are charged. Why not give us a free day usage ? Come on GO, show us why it's worth remaining loyal !!
apgrech
Aug 7th 2008, 21:15
Methinks the Maltese like to complain too much :))
Michael Borg
Aug 7th 2008, 18:02
@M.Debono
You have no idea how difficult it is to integrate different billing systems. Its a long process which will finally yield the wanted result. Have patience!
Carmel Xerri
Aug 7th 2008, 17:09
I agree with what Joe Borg says.
Alfred Grech
Aug 7th 2008, 17:07
We, the perfect people, who never goof or make mistakes, do not accept GO's apology.
Being the provider of perfect people, we expect you to be perfect also :))
Lawrence Bonello
Aug 7th 2008, 16:52
Perhaps it would help put things in perspective if we remember the good old "Strowger" days! :)) A one-day interruption indeed!! :)
Joe Borg
Aug 7th 2008, 16:49
No apology needed, Go must give another day of usage free of charge. Or they are good only to send the bill almost a month before it is due.
M. Debono
Aug 7th 2008, 16:46
Any idea when we can enjoy one bill for all quad services offered by GO? Why is it taking so long to create a scheme where customers can pick their GO service, be it TV, Internet, Telephone, Mobile and pay according to the number of GO services bought? At present, i receive a bill for my landline, another bill for the internet .. etc, etc. After all, one brand is encompassing all the 4 different companies (i.e. Multiplus, Maltanet, Maltacom, Go Mobile)!?!?