Cyclone Fani: DTH & Internet Antennas Yet To Be Repaired

Photograph: Suprakash Mishra

Bhubaneswar: Denizens of cyclone-affected areas are disappointed with the service of Direct-To-Home TV services. While some antennas were blown away with the wind, some got misaligned. This has left most people without TV broadcast services.

“Despite repeated complaints, no one from Airtel has come to repair our antenna. The customer support assures us speedy service but it has been weeks and no one has shown up yet,” said Gautam Nanda, an engineer living in Patia.

It is the same with other DTH players such as Tata Sky, Videocon, Dish and others.

“My WEFE Internet tower has fallen down. Tata Sky dish antenna is not receiving signals. The repairman said it could take weeks before they can restore it,” said Rajiv Mishra, a resident of Cuttack.

Industry sources say that there are not enough servicemen to carry out service at such a massive scale. Cable TV and Internet services are the worse-hit with overhead cables and optical fibres cut on almost every location.

“We used to have 10 people working with us. Now, we have just three men working for the entire CDA area,” said a DTH franchise owner who didn’t want to be identified.

According to reports, Airtel claims to have fixed 50 per cent of the complaints here.

Most DTH providers are also repairing free of charge.