30 Oct 2017

Cooks mobiles restored

4:19 pm on 30 October 2017

Bluesky Cook Islands says it has managed to restore cell phone services but with some restrictions.

Telecommunications company Bluesky.

Telecommunications company Bluesky. Photo: RNZI / Sally Round

The mobile phone system was cut on Friday after a fire at the company's facility on Rarotonga.

This meant internet services were down for several hours and cellphones for two days.

Bluesky's Philip Henderson said the company had been able to piggyback on its Samoa system and this has allowed a restoration of cell phone services.

"Over the weekend we have been able to restore all our fixed line services to our secondary site and late last night we restored our mobile services. Bluesky Cook Islands is part of the Bluesky group, which operates in American Samoa, Samoa and the Cooks, so it enables us, in situations like this, to basically reconnect our networks. And we are currently long lining off Samoa's network."

He said it would take about three weeks for the burnt out facility to be restored.

Fire-damaged Bluesky substation in Aroa on Rarotonga.

Fire-damaged Bluesky substation in Aroa on Rarotonga. Photo: RNZI/Florence Syme-Buchanan