"We understand that this is a difficult time for residents in the southern and central islands of The Bahamas and we wanted to assist them in a meaningful way," Cable Bahamas Vice President of Marketing David Burrows said. "Our efforts not only include restoring our services on those islands and reconnecting them to the rest of the country through communications, but we know that these residents are facing a number of challenges, so we've decided to provide our REVTV service free of charge for the remainder of the year to allow them to focus on what's really important at this time."

Mr Burrows added that, according to daily updates from company technicians, efforts to restore infrastructure damaged by the storm are progressing smoothly.

The company commenced its restoration programme shortly after the storm's passing, addressing significant damage to its aerial and ground structures caused by high winds and flooding.

 

Since then, the team of technicians has begun repairs on damaged facilities, equipment and downed poles and fibre lines affecting their distribution network. The company provided the following updates regarding the islands primarily affected by the hurricane:

 

San Salvador: Technicians have successfully replaced all three satellite dishes on the island. Channels that are now on air comprise all networks, as well as ZNS - 11, Channel Guide - 12, Turner Classic - 14, ISAT - 15, Lifetime - 16, Lifetime Movie - 17, Oxygen - 18, TNT - 19, HGTV - 22, Food Network - 23, Animal Planet - 24, Discovery - 25, Nickelodeon - 27, Cartoon Network - 28, Boomerang - 29, Fox Soccer - 30, ESPN1 - 31, ESPN2 - 32, CNN Headline - 33, CNN - 34, The Weather Channel - 37, Bahamas Parliament - 38, Space - 39, E! Entertainment - 43, TV5 - 45, MTV - 46 and EWTN - 50.

Technicians are awaiting additional dish parts and are working with a construction crew to restore all other channels, which is expected to be completed by the end of this week.

 

The team is also working to restore a number of fallen utility poles and fibre lines on the island. Since this week's arrival of a bucket truck, Cable Bahamas has dispatched a two-man crew to conduct network repairs beginning in Cockburn Town, and continuing north to restore any down fibre lines, taps and service drops.

 

Long Island: Power has been restored at the television transport facility

and most of Deadman's Cay. Most channels are back in service for most of Deadman's Cay. The same is true for all areas heading north - 14 neighbourhoods in all.

Technicians are working with a bucket van to repair fibre lines in northern Long Island. The repair team anticipates that all nodes from Deadman's Cay to the northern end of the island should be functional by week's end.

Replacement cables and hardware are en route to Crooked Island, Acklins, and Rum Cay where Cable Bahamas operates over-the-air television broadcast systems. These systems will remain out of service until equipment arrives and repairs are completed. Technicians have reported that there is no mechanical damage to transmitters on these islands, but some alignment may be necessary.

Cable Bahamas Vice President of Engineering John Gomez noted that the team of technicians is making great progress on the repairs and commended them for their proficiency in the wake of this disaster.

 

"We are proud of our repair crews for their quick work and all that has been accomplished so far," Mr Gomez said. "Despite challenging working conditions, they are doing a tremendous job of helping to bring a sense of normalcy back to residents affected by the hurricane. We are also appreciative of our valued customers who have been patient with us as we work hard to restore services in the central and southern islands."