A severe fault in the network of mobile carrier Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) is preventing thousands of users all over Israel from making and receiving calls. SMS services are also partially affected. Cellcom CEO Amos Shapira, appearing anxious and tired, said at a press conference this evening that the breakdown was "the most severe in Cellcom's history."
"Since this morning, Cellcom's network has experienced the worst breakdown we have had since the company was founded. Many of our customers are experiencing substantial difficulty in making and receiving calls. We apologize for the fact that we are unable to provide you, our customers, with our regular service," Shapira said at the opening of the press conference.
"That is what I have to say at the moment. Tens, even hundreds, of engineers are working to repair the breakdown. We are in touch with Nokia and other engineers around the world to solve the problem as quickly as possible. We have no estimate at present when the breakdown will be fixed. At the moment I can say that the breakdown is in the core of the network, and that Nokia's engineers are dealing with it together with us.
If I knew when the breakdown would be repaired, I would say, but I don’t want to get into speculation. We hope that it is not deliberate sabotage, but at the moment we are focusing only on fixing the problem. I have not checked our insurance, and that is not what concerns me at the moment.
"Will the breakdown last days or hours? I hope not more than hours, but I really do not know."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 1, 2010
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