The Federal Communications Commission updated the state of communications in Haiti as it helps its Haitian counterpart Conatel restore telecoms and other media in the nation battered by a devastating earthquake last week.
Two of the country’s four wireless networks are down, but mobile and satellite services are the primary method of communicating, said International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre. Haiti has no wireline telephone service in Port-au-Prince. The nation only had 108,000 fixed lines before the earthquake, mostly used by government employees. In a nation with a population of 9.8 million, only 1 in 100 people had access to wired telephone service, she said.
The primary way for people to communicate is mobile service; three in 10 Haitians have mobile phones. Wireless service in Port-au-Prince is operating, but coverage can be spotty due to high calling volumes. Immediate concerns for the wireless networks is that two of the four networks are down and the others are all using backup energy sources. While the networks outside of the capital city were not impacted by the earthquake, they face the same concerns.
Five Internet service providers offer Web access to about 1 million people; the largest ISP today is operating at 85%, having lost eight of its 60 towers.
Haiti had poor E911 service before the earthquake and the service is completely down today. The FCC has five people in Haiti helping rescue workers and Conatel employees. V
On a related note, more than $27 million (as of Monday evening) in charitable giving has been raised via text messaging donations from U.S. and Canadian wireless subscribers.