Haitians Slam Digicel After Third Internet Outage in Three Weeks
Telecom giant blames gunfire-damaged fiber-optic cables along RN1, as customers demand refunds and backup routes.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Digicel, one of Haiti's longest-serving telecommunications companies, faced criticism Monday following a third internet outage in less than a month that left customers unable to connect both inside and outside the country, according to The Haitian Times.
In an Oct. 12 statement, Digicel said the disruption to several of its services was likely caused by gunfire in the area where two damaged international fiber-optic cables are located along Route Nationale 1 (RN1). "We received reports of heavy gunfire in the area in question, and we believe this may have caused damage to our international fiber-optic cables," company officials said, apologizing for the disruption.
The company reported two earlier incidents — an outage on Sept. 23 and an interruption on Oct. 4 and 5 — both linked to damage to its international fiber-optic infrastructure.
The latest outage sparked strong criticism on Digicel's Facebook page, where users faulted the company for not reimbursing customers for unused plans and for not installing backup fiber-optic connections elsewhere. "Customers must be respected," wrote user Zenny Celestin.
RN1 connects Port-au-Prince to northern Haiti and passes through areas controlled by gangs including the Taliban in Canaan and Gran Grif in Artibonite. Digicel said technical teams were mobilized but had not announced when service would be restored.