All Pt Chevalier phones to be back on tomorrow

Pt Chevalier residents left without landlines since Friday should all have their phones back on by tomorrow.

About 3000 households lost the use of their phones after a contractor accidentally dug through two major cables in the area.

The damage has affected thousands of individual wires within the two damaged cables.

A Telecom official told the Herald many of the residents had already had their phone lines restored and the remaining people should be connected by tomorrow.

Telecom had been able to divert calls to cellphones for those who wanted that.

They had also provided mobile phones for residents without cell phones who needed to make emergency calls.

The Herald was told by Telecom staff issuing the mobile phones yesterday that only about a dozen had been requested.

The spokesperson said all affected Telecom customers would have one month's line rental, worth about $30, credited to their account. They would also get an extra $10 for every day the phones were out to contribute to mobile phone costs.

That news pleased resident Vaughn Wilkinson, who was having to use his Vodafone mobile from his Kiwi Rd home for what would have otherwise been free calls.