Nassau resident Gregory Saunders was shocked yesterday evening when - amidst all of his Hurricane Irene preparations - he found his home telephone line disconnected.
"It was bad timing," he told Guardian Business on his cell phone.  "If they had done it from Monday and gave us some days to work with, at least we would have had Tuesday to pay it.
"But the day before the hurricane?  I don't think anybody's phone should be off right now until next week sometime."
He was not the only one.  The Bahamas Telecommunications Company's Vice- President of Marketing Marlon Johnson said the apparent disconnections on Tuesday affected "a handful" of customers.  They were customers in preparation for a category three hurricane charging full steam ahead at the chain of islands.
Up to Wednesday, Irene had barreled through Puerto Rico with heavy winds and rains in tow.
It's a situation that even surprised some of the workers at BTC when Saunders called their customer hotline Tuesday night to inquire about the situation.  For Saunders, the automatic disconnection had been an error that needed to be sorted out.
Johnson explained that the customers were not intentionally disconnected before the hurricane, given there was an automatic disconnection system.  However, due to "technical issues" some customers found themselves cut off from communication as they battled with the approaching storm.
Complaints about the disconnections have sparked BTC - now operating under new majority shareholder Cable and Wireless - to discontinue suspensions until after the hurricane has passed.
"We will stay inactive until the hurricane warning has been lifted," Johnson added.  "We do also want to encourage persons to appreciate how essential it is to keep bills current so they are not faced with an inoperable phone.
"It should be a priority to keep your phone on [because] it's critical to have access to your account."
Still, Saunders asserts efforts should have been made prior to the disconnection to ensure that nobody would be in the situation he found his self in.
They are similar to arguments made recently in the state of Maryland, when the Baltimore Gas & Electric company last month powered down air conditions on one of the hottest days on record in that.  It was part of a normal program to conserve energy.  But afterwards, many of their customers complained that someone should have had the foresight to keep it on.
It's Saunders' sentiment exactly, even after his service was restored Wednesday.
"They were wrong for that," he said.  "That was more than an inconvenience."

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