After days without mobile communications, residents of Borongan, Samar are now able to call their loved ones. Engineers estimate that more than 1000 SMS per minute and 50 simultaneous calls are being sent and received right now over Instant Network in Borongan.

Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has restored mobile coverage in Palo, Leyte, a town located a few kilometers south of Tacloban City , which was among the coastal towns hardest hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) last November 8. Palo is the location of the governor’s headquarters and the center of emergency response operations of the province.

A team from Smart and Vodafone Foundation set up an instant network to quickly serve emergency communications for rescue and relief operations as well as to serve the residents.

This was the second instant network deployed in the Philippines as emergency response in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda.

Yesterday, another team from Smart and Vodafone was able to set up an instant network in Borongan, Eastern Samar to serve the needs of some 65,000 residents in the area. Engineers estimate that more than 1000 SMS per minute and 50 simultaneous calls are being sent and received right now over Instant Network in Borongan.

Smart also fired up an additional cellsite in downtown Tacloban City to augment the two sites reactivated early this week which includes the airport area where hundreds of people are converging for much needed aid. High speed Smart LTE data connectivity was also restored in downtown Tacloban last Wednesday.

Smart and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (DMPI) through its brand Sun Cellular (Sun) has so far restored 84% of network coverage in cities and municipalities affected as of November 14. Most of the remaining sites for restoration are located in the devastated areas in Leyte and Samar where access to passable roads and working airports as well as massive power blackout remain challenges.

Smart and Vodafone Foundation engineers as they set up the Instant Network in Borongan, Eastern Samar which was fired up yesterday. Smart was also able to restore network signal in Palo, Leyte using the same setup.

Meanwhile, Smart and DMPI has set up Libreng Tawag stations at the Villamor Airbase in Manila as well as at the Mactan Airbase and Brgy. Tinago Gym in Cebu City to help evacuees connect to their families.

To support the heavy influx of press people covering the post-disaster relief and rehabilitation, Smart and DMPI have also provided high-speed connectivity at the international media hub being set up in Mactan Airport and Mactan Airbase.

We are moved by the response of the people in Palo and Borongan. When we fired up the Smart signal in these areas, hundreds of people started making that important first call after several days without communications. This makes us all the more determined to further fast track network restoration in the remaining areas devastated by the Typhoon.” said Rolando G. Peña, PLDT and Smart technical services head who personally went to Tacloban City and Borongan to supervise the deployment.

“As soon as we put up the network last night, people thanked us for our help with big smiles. Some were crying from the emotion of having spoken to their family for the first time in days. Instant Network is running at full capacity and often faces congestion so we are asking people to use sms over voice calls. We have had to de-activate data to give full capacity for voice and sms. Smart is providing vital international calls as well so people can give news to their family abroad. You can imagine that a simple message “I am alive” is what family members in other parts of the country need after being without any news for 5 days. 3 words that mean so much in emergencies.” said Vodafone Foundation Instant Network Roll-out manager Oisin Walton.

The Instant Network setup fired up in Borongan and Palo is an ultra-portable mobile phone network, light enough to travel in the back of a car or on commercial flights, which enables for quick response to disasters.  Consisting of an antenna, a foldable mast, an industrial computer and base transceiver station, the equipment is powered by generators.  As there is still no power in both Palo and Borongan, the Instant Network set-ups are running on generator sets which are also being used for free mobile phone battery charging.

Smart and DMPI continues to provide direct assistance in support of relief and rehabilitation efforts. Today, Smart Libreng Tawag services are being offered to the public in the following areas:

1. Antique:
   • Libertad
2. Bantayan Island, Cebu
   • Smart cell site in Poblacion Sta. Fe
   • Sta. Fe Port
   • Cultural Center
   •  Madridejos Municipal Hall
3. Capiz
   • Roxas City Hall
   • Dao Public Market
   • Panit-an
   • Pontevedra
   • President Roxas
4. Cebu
   • Mactan Air Base
   • Brgy. Tinago Gym (evacuation center)
5. Eastern Samar
   • Smart cell site in Poblacion, Borongan
6. Iloilo
   • Batad
   • Carles
   • Estancia
7. Palo, Leyte
   • Palo Municipal Hall
   • Palo Learning Center in Poblacion, Palo
8. Northern Cebu
   • Express Call Office, Bogo City proper
   • San Francisco Municipal Hall, Camotes Island
   • Medellin Public Market; Hagnaya Port
9. NCR
   • Villamor Air Base
10. Palawan
    • Coron Town Proper beside 2Go Office
    • Culion Town Proper
11. Ormoc City
    • Smart Retail Store
    • Ormoc City Hall       
12. Tacloban City
    • Command Center at Tacloban Stadium

The public may also proceed to the following locations to charge their mobile handset batteries:

1. Aklan
   • Smart cell site in Old Buswang, Kalibo
2. Bantayan Island, Cebu
   • Sta. Fe Smart cell site
   • Smart cell site in Madridejos
   • Municipal Hall of Madridejos
3. Capiz
   • Roxas City Hall
4. Eastern Samar
   • Smart cell site in Poblacion, Borongan
5. Northern Cebu
   • Express Call Office, Bogo City proper
6. Palo, Leyte
   • Palo Municipal Hall
   • Palo Learning Center in Poblacion, Palo
7. Ormoc City, Leyte
   • Smart Retail Store