The installation of 50 new battery banks at 29 telecommunications sites contributes to preserving the vitality of this service, confirmed executives of the Las Tunas Division of the Cuban Telecommunications Company S.A. (ETECSA). These batteries, purchased in foreign markets, replace similar ones that have deteriorated due to continuous use over several years. This deterioration had accelerated with the country's energy crisis.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- These are gel batteries, designed to operate under preservation conditions, guaranteeing approximately three hours of service during power outages, explained Rafael Hernández Castro, head of the Supervision and Management Group of the Network Operations Department. For this reason, he explained, they were installed at 23 telecommunications sites, which also have backup generators. The rest are in locations without power insurance, but the comparatively low consumption of the equipment they protect made it profitable to place them there.
The upgrade benefits telecommunications in densely populated areas of several municipalities in Las Tunas, which until now have been affected by their voice, messaging, and data services when backup generators kick in due to the lack of electricity from the National Power Grid. This time, the expert said, is not usually excessively long, just a few minutes; however, he noted, it is critical for calls or data links established at that time, which were cut off due to deteriorated batteries.
ETECSA had begun other infrastructure improvements here last March, as part of the strategy to restore the vitality of the Cuban telecommunications system, which in recent months gained momentum with the arrival of imported equipment to upgrade 10 mobile phone base stations in the provincial capital, making it possible to relocate existing apparatus to other places.
In Majibacoa, for example, five cards were installed, opening 240 data services and paving the way for the commercialization of 105 landlines, commented engineer Ángel Luis Yero González, a telematics specialist. Furthermore, LTE or 4G technology, as it is also known, is available in the mobile base stations in the town of Las Parras, thus solidifying its presence in the municipality's main settlements, as it was already available in the communities of Calixto and Vivienda. "We have 4G also in the micro BTS in the rural popular councils of La Posta and Ojo de Agua," added Yero González.