The Internet service of Codetel, the leading telecommunication company in the Dominican Republic, hit rock bottom yesterday when for six hours most of the country could not access the Internet. According to an article in El Caribe newspaper the shut down was caused by problems in one of their links to the supplier company in Miami. The Listín Diario said a source within Codetel put the blame on their "satellite." This explanation is unlikely as Codetel is connected by submarine cable from both UUNET/MCI Worldcom and by Teleglobe (http://teleglobe.com) to Canada and the US. The company has not issued an official statement. The Internet blackout began at around 1:30 pm and affected operations until around 8 pm. Several users in Santo Domingo were still experimenting difficulties today. Long gone are the days when Codetel service meant excellence. Users feel that the profits-hungry company is squeezing what it can out of consumers, while it can, and not making the necessary investments to provide adequate service. What seems to be most likely is that Codetel has oversold its capacity. Alfredo Freites, on the Tal Para Cual morning talk show commented, "Codetel has to get more serious." Users are hopeful that better service is around the corner with the advent of Centennial and France Telecom (Orange) that have promised to offer improved Internet connections in 2001. Codetel reportedly services 100,000 persons in the DR. The company, previously owned by GTE, is now a Verizon company, that resulted from the fusion of Bell Atlantic and GTE.
