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Let’s start with some background
At GO, our purpose is to drive a digital Malta where no one is left behind. We have in fact been connecting people and businesses to what matters most to them for the past 45 years. In order to do this, we had to invest in a nationwide infrastructure, which back then, necessitated the passing of overhead cables that are an integral part of our copper network. Whenever possible, and when conditions allowed us, we utilised existing infrastructure to minimise the environmental impact. Over time, due to wear and tear, climate conditions, infrastructural developments and other works, our network cabling could have detached from the original fixtures or interfere with building developments.
Fast forward 25 years and we made our biggest investment ever. We commenced a nationwide rollout of a TrueFibre network that promises connections at the speed of light, right to your living room. We are now maintaining two networks – our traditional copper network and the TrueFibre network in areas where it is already rolled out. In parallel, we are continuing the roll out of the new, more advanced TrueFibre network.
Why this background?
We feel it is important to give a context to the time it takes us to address your requests to shift our cables. We are not finding excuses, quite to the contrary. We know how inconvenient this is and are doing our very best to improve our processes to bring this waiting time to the shortest time possible.
Not every cabling shift request is the same. Some are relatively simple, because they are ‘dead’ wires, meaning that no live services are being carried on these networks. However, we still need to plan and allocate the required resources according to the individual case.
Others may be active wires, meaning that any unauthorised tampering could leave hundreds of clients without a service.
So what's the process?
In such cases, we would first assess the feasibility of undertaking a change technology exercise, meaning shifting services from copper to fibre, in that particular area. The effort to just shift these cables would be equivalent to the effort required to change technology and therefore a judgement call needs to be taken in such circumstances. Change technology would therefore mean additional permits from third parties and complex planning and implementation.
Whenever change technology is not feasible, we would need to find an alternative route for the cabling. Again, this requires detailed planning, permits, occasionally – civil engineering works, human and financial resources.
We are also looking at this part of our work as an opportunity for us to reduce our environmental impact in the long term. In time, as we continue to roll out our TrueFibre Network, we can gradually start switching off our copper network and that means, less carbon emissions and less wires on your facades.
In the meantime however, we want to make sure that you get to enjoy your communications services with minimal eyesore or inconvenience. We have embarked on an ambitious project and are looking at every aspect of cabling maintenance and shifting and are seeing how we can improve our service in this regard.
We have laid out below, the current information we require from you so that we can start working on your individual case and expected waiting times.
What are the costs?
In cases where the infrastructure is located in or on public property, the costs need to be covered by the requester. Furthermore, the requester also has to provide an alternative location for us to pass the necessary infrastructure.
Costs vary depending on the case in question, however the average cost is approximately €550. This does not mean that the cost cannot be lower or higher, as cost is dependent on the individual case and the extent of works required.
We will always do whatever we can to keep costs to the bare minimum in the given circumstance.
Expected waiting times
The indicated waiting times are provided as a guidance only to help you plan your works ahead of time. There are many factors that can impact the waiting times for such works to be carried out, such as whether the cables belong to our copper or fibre network, whether the cables are carrying live services and if so, how many customers will be impacted by the required change. The more information you supply, the better positioned we are to service you faster. Please do send us any photos you may have and provide all the information required in the form.
Also, do not attempt to tamper or cut our cables. This could have significant impact on our infrastructure, as well as other customers. We reserve the right to take legal action if our infrastructure has been damaged as a consequence of unauthorised tampering.
