Leading telecommunications company Globe Telecom will temporarily shut off its mobile services in Iloilo City during the 2019 Dinagyang Festival highlights on January 26 and 27.
The signal shut off was requested by Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) Director Senior Superintendent Martin Defensor to National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) as part of security measures being implemented during festival.
Loss of network services will start from 6 AM until 2 PM of Kasadyahan and Ati Tribe Competitions on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Patrick Gloria, Globe External Affairs Head for Visayas and Mindanao, said on Thursday during a huddle with Iloilo media and bloggers that they will comply and not ‘gamble’ the safety of the people.
“Safety is our primary concern. If anybody would say that they are losing business, we are losing business too, because that’s a lot of towers to [shut off]. However, our priority is the safety of everyone else,” said Gloria.
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| Globe VisMin head for External Affairs Patrick Gloria with members of Iloilo press and bloggers during the media huddle for Dinagyang 2019. |
All cell towers with signals reaching the main parade routes in downtown Iloilo City will be shut off, so some parts of nearby towns such as Pavia might suffer signal loss.
Gloria also clarified that only network services such as call, text, mobile data, and other signal-based products such as Globe at Home LTE and Prepaid Wifi will be affected.
Wired wifi connections with physical cables in homes and shops, and GoWifi in malls along streets that are not part of the parade routes will still have internet connections.
