WILLEMSTAD – Telecommunications provider Flow has provided new details about the service interruption that affected customers on Friday, July 31, saying the outage was caused by a fire that damaged both electricity and fiber-optic infrastructure.
According to the company, the incident began when a tree on private property came into contact with overhead utility lines. The tree caught fire, igniting nearby electrical cables. The flames subsequently spread to Flow's fiber-optic cables, which were attached to the same utility pole, disrupting communications services.
Flow said its technical teams worked continuously throughout the day and night to replace the damaged fiber infrastructure and restore services as quickly as possible.
During the restoration process, the company kept customers informed through WhatsApp, SMS messages and its interactive voice response (IVR) system.
Ralph Damberg, Manager of Outside Plant (OSP) Maintenance, thanked customers for their patience and understanding while crews carried out repairs. Clarissa Filiciana-Alberg of Flow's marketing team said keeping customers updated throughout the outage remained a priority.
Flow also highlighted recent investments in its network infrastructure. According to Vice President for the Southern Caribbean, Waldo Hooker, the company recently migrated to a new Ericsson core network designed to improve overall network capacity and reliability.
The telecommunications provider said it remains committed to investing in a stronger and more resilient network capable of withstanding unexpected external events.
Flow thanked its customers for their continued trust and apologized for the inconvenience caused by the outage.