Las Tunas Telephone Company: Outstanding in 2009
Text and photos by István Ojeda Bello

Las Tunas, Cuba, Feb 25, (P26).- The Las Tunas Provincial Division of the Cuban Telephone Company (ETECSA) closed the year first among provinces nationwide, despite having suffered the worst damages ever to its infrastructure after two major hurricanes lashed the territory in 2008.   

During 2009, the provincial telephone network completed the restoration of some 15,000 telephone lines damaged after Hurricane Ike and Paloma passed through the province in late 2008, leaving some 302 communities without telecommunications.

The Las Tunas division of ETECSA leads all provinces in several key areas including quality of local and national calls, per capita public telephones, and the expansion of new services.

All eight municipalities of the province have commercial offices and two new offices are scheduled to open in 2010. Among the projects completed in 2009, were the installation of a fibreoptics network in the Municipality of Amancio and improved cell phone coverage in Puerto Padre.

In terms of economic contribution in 2009, the provincial division experienced growth in its labor productivity while reducing costs and meeting its forecasted revenue.

The company also made significant investments in 2009, including modernizing telephone cabinets that led to the installation of some 4,000 new private telephone lines. In 2010, the company continues to install these modern cabinets to expand the number of houses with telephone service.

Secretary of the Cuban Communication Workers Union SNTCIE) Bertha Zamora Veliz says that improvements in the work of the union helped contribute to the company’s achievements.

Overall, the 522 union members had great individual results in 2009 in areas such as productivity, quality and labor discipline. 

The head of the Las Tunas Division of ETECSA, Pablo Julio Plá Feria, said that among the current challenges facing the company are providing more phone lines through efficient investments. For 2010, his focus is to keep the work collective united and productive “to give the best quality of service possible to the public, since they are the ones we work for.”