Students living in a new town in the south of the country should be able to log in to their online school lessons with ease before the end of the year after promises that 15 new phone masts would be set up covering residential areas in Khalifa Town, Askar and Jaw.
Anxious residents breathed a sigh of relief in May when the first one was erected after a four-year wait … but their connectivity woes were far from over.
Area MP and Parliament foreign affairs, defence and national security committee chairman Mohammed Al Sissi, said those who have benefited were only living in one small section of the developments.
Mr Al Sissi, who is also National Action Charter Parliamentary Bloc president, contacted the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and its representatives last week conducted an urgent site visit.
Mr Al Sissi
“The signal troubles are set to be over soon as some of 15 planned masts for the new town will be installed by December and, additionally, plans also include extending Internet fibre optics from nearby East Riffa to the town,” he said.
“Students opting for online education have been facing trouble connecting to the Internet and even sitting on the roof of their homes to get connected has not proved a solution.
“Some families have been forced to send their children back to school even if they would prefer choosing online education because they didn’t want to miss classes or were unable to send completed assignments.”
“Khalifa Town should have seen masts installed years ago when families first moved there but they are still waiting a proper service.”
The GDN reported in March 2019 that mobile phone signals in some new neighbourhoods were allegedly so bad that families had to make calls from their rooftops – or even drive out of the area to find a strong-enough signal.
The town was officially opened in December 2017 by His Majesty King Hamad.
More than 2,000 residents live in the area.
Hassle
They had appealed for help over the matter, prompting calls to Parliament and the council for action.
“We warned that one phone mast was insufficient,” said Southern Municipal Council chairman and area councillor Bader Al Tamimi.
Mr Al Tamimi
“Residents of the new town had no proper phone or Internet signal at a time when Covid-19 first struck and when education and work became remote affairs.
“Imagine the hassle they have faced! They were forced to go on their rooftops or sit in their cars away from home to access the Internet. Fortunately things have now improved for some and, hopefully, the new move will benefit the rest of the residents.”
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