MANILA - Telecommunications firms in the Philippines were quick to get back on their feet after tropical storm "Ondoy" (international code name Ketsana) wreaked havoc, death, and destruction in several areas of the country.

Barely a week after "Ondoy" reached the country, mobile phone giants Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. said they were able to restore their services to more than 90% of areas greatly affected by the tropical storm.

The reason? They were prepared.

Based on the many typhoons that hit the country before, these key telecommunications firms already have systems in place to allow them to bring back operations to normal the soonest possible time.

Just another typhoon

Globe Regulatory Policy Head Andy Bengzon said Globe's business continuity and preparedness plans have been in place since "Ondoy's" onslaught. He added that the company is prepared to face typhoon "Pepeng" (international code name Parma), which is expected to bring stronger winds and tremendous rainfall in the coming days.

"We're on heightened alert, our preparedness plan is still in place," Bengzon told abs-cbnNEWS.com in a phone interview.

According to Bengzon, Globe was able to experience worse situations in previous typhoons such as "Milenyo" and "Reming," as these affected far-flung areas in different provinces.

"The major ones were Milenyo and Reming. I think they had a bigger effect [than Ondoy] since its hard to restore sites in remote areas," he explained.

On Wednesday, Smart Wireless Consumer Division Chief Bong Mojica said revenues from voice calls and text messaging rose 12% on September 26, when "Ondoy" hit the country.

...But there were new problems

Despite the quick recovery of phone firms from "Ondoy's" wrath, Bengzon said they have also experienced a number of problems at the onslaught of the tropical storm.

For one, he said everyone was caught off-guard by the volume of water due to the lack of a proper weather monitoring system. PAGASA, the country's weather bureau, was unable to predict the intense amount of rainfall that "Ondoy" brought into the country.

"We were caught off-guard by the sheer volume of water. There was no system in place on monitoring," he said.

Aside from this, Bengzon said power outages caused by the massive floods made it difficult for them to operate during the typhoon. "The power kept on going out," he said.

Other telcos have earlier aired the same sentiment, saying that these 2 problems made it harder for them to provide clear wireless mobile coverage.

Restoration efforts

Bengzon said Globe's restoration efforts are 99% complete in North Luzon, 92% complete in Metro Manila including Rizal province, and 96% complete in South Luzon as of Wednesday.

"We're expecting everything to be 100% done within the week," he said.

Smart, on the other hand, has recovered 93% of its cellular sites in storm-hit areas including Marikina, Antipolo, Cainta, Pasig, and towns of Rizal province.

"Repair work continues and we expect to complete restoration soon," the mobile phone arm of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) said in a statement released Wednesday.

Gokongwei-led Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Sun Cellular), meanwhile, said that they are expecting normal operations "very soon" as floodwaters get cleared up in thoroughfares in the capital.

"Ondoy" dumped the heaviest rains in more than 40 years in Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces on Saturday. The tropical storm left 277 people dead while 42 remain missing, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

Total damage to property was initially estimated at P1.4 billion, while damage to roads and bridges were seen at P1.3 billion. Many homes and cars were also destroyed by the tropical storm, with the non-life insurance industry expecting claims to amount to billions of pesos.

Impact to bottomline

Bengzon said "Ondoy" may not make a significant dent on telco revenues as people tend to make more calls and send more text messages to check on their loved ones in times of calamities.

"We don't think it will cause a significant dip in revenues. But we've yet to consolidate all data for the third quarter," he said.

Earlier, Smart said revenues from voice calls and text messaging rose 12% on September 26, when "Ondoy" hit the country.

The company is set to report a slower subscriber take-up for the third quarter, a usually weak period for telecommunications firms due to the lack of prominent holidays in the Philippines.

For their part, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies have learned from previous strong typhoons how important it is to have reliable internet and voice communications to keep their business going.

Most BPO firms reportedly subscribe to the service of Smart's parent, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), in business districts since their service reportedly held up well after typhoons due to its well-designed main loops.