Telecommunications services in the Shortland Islands at the far Western Boarder have been severely disrupted following the impact of Cyclone Maila, with most towers operated by Solomon Telekom reported out of service.
Residents across the Shortland Islands claimed the outage has caused a major breakdown in communication, leaving communities cut off from families and essential services.
Many villagers have been unable to contact relatives and loved ones since last week.
The disruption has also halted mobile banking services such as M-Selen and other internet-based transactions, creating further hardship for affected communities.
A concerned family member in Gizo told Solomon Star that he has been unable to reach his relatives in Shortland for nearly two weeks.
“It’s been almost two weeks now, and we still cannot get through to them when we try calling,” he said.
“We don’t know when Solomon Telekom will restore the service.” the concerned member added.
Other relatives echoed similar concerns, noting that only those with access to Starlink internet are able to maintain limited communication, where available.
However, they stressed that the majority of the islands remain without any telecommunications access.
Families based in Gizo and Honiara continue to face difficulties contacting relatives in the Shortland Islands due to the ongoing outage.
Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed reports the Gizo office of Solomon Telekom said assessment of the damage has been carried out.
The company indicated that once the report is finalised, a technical team from Honiara and Gizo will be deployed to the Shortland Islands to repair the affected towers.
“Once full assessment is conducted restoration will depend on the findings and repairs may take some time, but Solomon Telekom is aware of the issue,” a company spokesperson said.
By Ulutah Gina
Solomon Star Gizo
