Cable break cuts off Visayas, Mindanao’s mobile connection to Luzon

DAVAO CITY — When services of Globe Telecom were interrupted Sunday in most areas of the country, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao, many assumed it was because of the sold-out bout of Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquaio, who pummeled Mexican boxer Oscar Larios.

However, Globe public relations chief Jones Campos told The STAR in a phone interview yesterday that a ‘cable break’ occurred Sunday just when the Mano-A-Mano boxing fight was starting to heat up.

"It was a cable break. It was one-in-million case.It affected the lines connecting Luzon and the Visayas and in a way affecting Mindanao," Campos said.

Pacquaio, who beat Larios to the wild cheers of Filipinos nationwide and not just those who were at the Araneta Coliseum, was incidentally an endorser of Globe’s competitor, Smart Communications Inc.

Many thought that Globe’s services were also virtually knocked out by its rival Smart with the service interruption happening at exactly the time the Pacquaio-Larios fight was airing.

"No, it has nothing to do with the boxing fight. It was really an accident due to natural causes in our cable system," Campos explained.

Cable breaks are normally caused by strong undersea current or even earthquakes, he added.

Globe subscribers in Mindanao and the Visayas were reportedly not able to call nor send text messages the whole day on Sunday because of the cable break.

"We are really sorry for the inconvenience," Campos said.

Globe’s services in the south fully resumed only towards midnight on Sunday after its team of experts was able to fix the problem.

Campos said Globe’s services started to resume in certain parts of the Visayas and Mindanao by 4 p.m. on Sunday but was marred by heavy network traffic.