Solar equipment used to power Digicel’s Omai site has been stolen.
The theft occurred on Thursday; resulting in the total loss of services at Omai, Essequibo River and nearby communities, the company said in a press release. Police are investigating.
In the interim, Digicel has implemented a temporary solution which resulted in the restoration of service yesterday. However, CEO Gregory Dean has advised that there will be periods of intermittent loss of service over the coming days.
“Digicel is extremely disappointed that persons would steal such vital equipment from a remote cellular site. We are now determining how to move forward in Omai considering that there is always the possibility of a recurrence of this incident,” Dean said.
The CEO also noted that a significant investment was made to provide this service following a request by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds on behalf of persons in neighbouring communities at the launch of its 58 Miles Service.
“Despite this setback in Omai, we will continue with our plans to roll out services in other remote communities. The solar powered sites are the best option in most remote areas since it not only contributes to greener communities but in most cases there is no alternative source of power readily accessible,” he said.
