SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - MTN has successfully restored connectivity to large parts of Knysna in the Western Cape following a devastating fire that has raged through the region.

Many people in Knysna have had no cell phone connection and have needed to use Wifi including the Knysna-Plett Herald editorial team.

MTN engineers and support partners have worked throughout the night to restore connectivity, while engineers are on site in Cape Town to recharge the back-up batteries that power affected sites. Of the 255 sites that were down yesterday evening in the Knysna area, 241 are now active and engineers are working fervently to restore the remaining 14 inactive sites.

“The runaway fires damaged fibre networks, infrastructure and communication equipment. As a result our engineers are re-routing the traffic to enable residents to have access to voice and data services and facilitate access between residents and the disaster management team,” says Giovanni Chiarelli, Chief Technology and Information Officer: MTN SA.

“I am gratified with the dedication of our engineers who toiled under very difficult circumstances throughout the night to open the lines of communication. We are working with emergency services in the area to ensure that we do everything we can to assist in this time of need,” he adds.

MTN has dispatched a team from Johannesburg to the Western Cape in order to provide additional support.

“MTN is aware that some of its customers in Cape Town and Eastern Cape are experiencing intermittent service disruptions due to power lines that were damaged by strong winds yesterday. Our engineers are on site,” says Mr Chiarelli.

MTN will continue to provide the residents with an update during the course of the day on the progress made.

More information to follow as it becomes available.

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