Utilities to clean up and color-code spaghetti wire

CEBU, Philippines - Local public utility service providers have agreed to clean up the city streets of sagging wires and excess posts within six months to a year.

Mayor Michael Rama said the service providers of cable television, telephone and electricity assured him that they will look into the presence of “spaghetti” wires all over the city.

During his regular press conference yesterday, the mayor said the utility companies agreed that there will be a system of wiring by means of color-coding for immediate identification. 

Rama said the wires pose risk and danger to both pedestrians and motorists as most of them are left dangling perilously low.

Agreeing to the suggestion of the mayor, the utility companies agreed to color-code their wires for easy identification.

Skycable will use sky blue; Bayantel, orange; VECO, black; Digitel, powder blue; PLDT, yellow; Innove, dark blue and CCTN, silver.

Veco corporate communications manager Ethel Natera said the company wants to meet with officials of Globe, Smart, PLDT and others to come out with an agreement on how to solve this problem.

Natera said it will be difficult to keep blaming each other and it is more important to gather all the telecom and cable firms to resolve the problem.

PLDT customer service chief Bong Lintag echoed Natera’s sentiment and said they have spent P6 billion nationwide to repair their spaghetti wires.

He said they were among the first to comply with cable tying and color-coded bundling of cables in Cebu.

The officials, however, disagreed on adopting an underground cabling system, saying it is inconvenient and expensive. (FREEMAN)