SEVERAL CABLE and Wireless' pre-paid cellular customers were unable to make or receive calls for most of yesterday, after a "technical problem" hit the company's network.
The glitch started from as early as 6 a.m. throwing the utility's network into disarray. The hiccup also started three hours after the company had tested its "Cellie Mail" ShortText Messaging Service (SMS).
A release from Cable and Wireless yesterday said its engineers and representatives of equipment suppliers continued to work non-stop to resolve the problem and return the system to normal operation as soon as possible. The land drive problem was expected to be corrected and service return to normal by 8 p.m. last night.
Since last week, the company had advised that in preparation for the launch of its SMS, it would be conducting billing tests for pre-paid mobile customers sending text messages yesterday between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
But, Public Relations Manager Errol Miller told The Gleaner yesterday the SMS trial did not affect the pre-paid network. "It has nothing to do with that. They are not connected," he said.
Earlier this year, Cable and Wireless Jamaica fired Steve Twomey, its senior vice-president in charge of mobile services, after a shutdown of the utility's entire cellular network on consecutive weekends.
