Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has invested $1 million in power generation throughout the country in preparation for the 2017 hurricane season, and continues to roll out and expand its fiber optic network throughout the country - a buffer against lost service during major storms.
In a press release issued yesterday, BTC said it has completed its "checks and balances" to ensure that its network and service withstand the impact of major hurricanes like those The Bahamas endured in 2015 and 2016.
But the release also revealed that BTC has yet to complete repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Matthew.
"We still have small pockets where we have repairs that need to be completed. In those cases we have provided alternative means of communication for our customers, whether through data dongles for Internet or mobile devices for voice services," said BTC CEO Leon Williams.
According to BTC, it suffered "tremendous" damage to its landline network in the wakes of Hurricanes Joaquin and Matthew.
"We used this as an opportunity to rip and replace our landline legacy platforms in some areas. For instance, Rum Cay now has fiber end to end," said Williams.
"Additionally, we installed fiber services to San Salvador. We are still rolling out fiber services in Eastern New Providence and installing fiber in several communities in Grand Bahama.
"Our biggest concern during hurricanes is usually power. This year, we invested an additional $1 million and installed an additional 30 generators throughout the country. We also test and service our existing generators as a part of our usual routines."
To supplement the physical preparedness of its infrastructure, BTC, along with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation, will host a disaster recovery workshop with the business community.
"This year, we want to ensure that we take the message of disaster preparedness and recovery directly to the business community. We're partnering with the Chamber of Commerce to provide more information to our clients," said Williams.
The press release said BTC has partnered with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), where it has three team members assigned as liaison officers.
"For the first time, NEMA used our network to send important public announcements during Hurricane Matthew," Williams said.
"We will again extend this opportunity to them to reach customers throughout the country. Additionally, this year, in the event of a storm, customers will be able to listen and watch a variety of local stations to get updates through BTC's Flow to Go app."

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