Partial phone service restored

HAGATNA – The telecommunications outage in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has eased slightly, with the partial restoration of phone connection late last week, but Internet service hasn’t yet been restored on Saipan.

The CNMI was cut off from phone and Internet connection with Guam and the rest of the world shortly after midnight Wednesday when the lone undersea fiber-optic cable connection to the CNMI broke.

The breakage resulted in a loss of communications links to the CNMI, crippling the ability of people and businesses to surf the web, make off-island calls, use credit cards or ATMs, consult with off-island health professionals and book flights, among other functions.

Cape Air cancelled CNMI-Guam flights between Wednesday and Friday because of the communications breakdown.

The lone undersea cable connection to the CNMI is operated by IT&E.

IT&E announced Thursday morning that a backup microwave communications link, connecting Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan, was partially restored, allowing for a limited phone connection.

“Limited voice connections have been established between Guam and Saipan, and we are working to restore more lines,” a statement said.

Typhoon Nangka made its closest approach to Saipan Thursday morning, but information on damage to the island wasn’t available because of the communications outage.

The National Weather Service on Guam, which gives weather updates, couldn’t make a call to the Saipan Emergency Management Office Thursday morning so communication was initially through radio.

Patrick Chan, a Weather Service meteorologist, said around 11am. Thursday that the Saipan Emergency Management Office was able to start making hourly phone calls to the Weather Service on Guam. The Guam office couldn’t make a call into Saipan.

IT&E stated the cause of the undersea cable break remains under investigation. The company stated Wednesday the break was a result of complications from recent storms.