Flow Jamaica has completed the removal of its legacy underground copper network, freeing up capacity to move more vulnerable fiber transmission routes underground and protect them from severe weather.
The operator said it has moved around 170km of fibre transmission routes underground over the past two years, with further work planned as part of its network modernisation programme.
The initiative has gained momentum following Hurricane Melissa, with Flow using restoration work as an opportunity to replace damaged infrastructure with fibre technology and improve network resilience.
Flow Jamaica vice president and general manager Stephen Price (pictured) said removing the obsolete copper network would create greater capacity to protect critical fibre routes from high winds, falling trees and other weather-related damage.
The operator is also facing an increase in suspected vandalism targeting its infrastructure, with incidents involving people apparently searching for copper leading to damage to fibre cables.
Price said the underground cables no longer contain copper, warning that cutting them disrupts connectivity for customers and businesses while diverting technical teams from network upgrades and restoration work.
Flow has urged the public to report suspicious activity around telecommunications infrastructure to the police.
