And while the BTL controversy continues to dominate the headlines, it's still nascent competitor, Speednet is in the news for all the wrong reasons tonight; it is the victim of a serious act of vandalism, possibly sabotage.
One of the last links in Speednet's nationwide network of towers came tumbling down last night, when vandals equipped with power tools brought down the telephone company's 200 foot tower in Carmelita Village. Video taken today by our affiliates at the Northern Cable Company shows the $80,000 worth of toppled steel on the ground. Speednet's Executive Director Edwardo Santiago says the tower wasn't yet connected to their network so it did not affect service.
Edwardo Santiago, Executive Director - Speednet
"Some individuals, we don't know yet whom, went at night and they did use some power tools, like an electric saw, and they cut the guide wires and brought the tower down."
Keith Swift,
How will this affect Speednet?
Edwardo Santiago,
"The tower was in the middle of being fitted with some antennas so it does affect Speednet in terms of perfecting the coverage between Orange Walk and the next site in Crooked Tree but we still have very good coverage in that area. It was just a matter of covering some little pockets of noisy areas but we will have it quickly up in the air again."
Keith Swift,
Do you feel that Speednet was targeted?
Edwardo Santiago,
"No. I have no idea; I have no opinion to the matter. We have no idea who would do this to us but if people do have any guess or any clues on this please call the police and give them the information."
"It took a lot of work, a lot of effort and, a lot of money and it was really intended to provide services to the surrounding villages which won't now have any service. For example Guinea Grass and villages in the Carmelita Area would have benefited from this tower and now services to them will be delayed, I will say at least a couple months."
It will cost Speednet an additional $50,000 to $60,000 and take another two months for Speednet to replace the tower. Speednet executives say they believe the tower was targeted for its value in aluminum. They also point to other strange happenings in the area like the arson of the Tower Hill Bridge Toll Booth on Holy Thursday. It's interesting to note that Speednet rents tower space from third parties, mainly BTL, for most of its other towers. This is one of the few towers that the telephone company owns.
