Prensa Latina

Cuban telecommunications are on the mend after winds from hurricane Dennis snapped cables, toppled telephone poles and wreaked other damage in that sector.

A notice from Cuba´s Telecommunications Company (ETECSA) said many localities from the provinces of Sancti Spíritus, Granma, Villa Clara and Matanzas have already been connected to long distance service.

The source also says eastern Santiago has been making progress.

A total of 4 031 telephones had their service interrupted in Cienfuegos, which reports recovery of fallen cables, pole repair and repair of offices and telephone centers.

Havana province is patching together local networks and in the capital but around 7 000 phones are still out of order.

ETECSA is prioritizing long distance links for areas left with no public service.
In an effort to keep communications on, particularly with the harshly hit areas, the phone company activated satellite phone communications so local Civil Defense and authorities could exchange on how to confront and deal with the violent storm.