Christmas without coverage: three Zamorano towns cut off from communication like sixty years ago

Alberto F. de la Fuente

Zamora, Dec 25 (EFE).- They spend Christmas Eve and Christmas without mobile phone coverage, without a landline, or internet, that is, incommunicado like sixty years ago. “At least then the doctor came without having to make a telephone appointment and the administrative procedures were not required to be telematic,” the mayor of San Vicente de la Cabeza (Zamora), Fernando González, laments to EFE.

He and the rest of the councilors of the corporation spent Christmas morning calling neighbors’ houses to check that everyone was okay in San Vicente de la Cabeza and in the Palazuelo de las Cuevas annex.

They are two of the three towns in Zamora with mobile phone coverage problems that have now also cut off the traditional telephone line with the promise of an imminent installation of “ultra-fast” fiber optics that does not arrive.

In the case of the third town in the area affected by the situation, Bermillo de Alba, the problem for its hundred residents has continued for almost a month and at least in that town the Red Cross has provided two satellite telephones and an walkie-talkies so they can give notice in an emergency.

On the other hand, in San Vicente de la Cabeza and Palazuelo de las Cuevas, the almost two hundred residents of both towns have been completely isolated since last Tuesday, except in some specific areas in the upper part of their urban areas, where coverage mobile telephony comes with difficulty.

“Nobody pays attention to us”

The mayor’s anger is considerable. “No one pays attention to us, we feel abandoned, this situation should not have occurred under any circumstances,” he warns.

Remember that in May of last year they were promised that two months later fiber optics would be installed in the municipality and now, without it being installed yet, they have taken away their landline telephone service through the previous cable system “because they felt like it and It’s over”, breaking the law, universalizes access to 1-1-2 to communicate an emergency.

For this reason, members of the corporation toured the two affected towns through the fog this Monday morning to ensure, family by family, that everyone was fine and did not have any urgent needs.

Holidays without congratulations

Fortunately, they have not encountered any incidents, although in both San Vicente de la Cabeza and Palazuelo de las Cuevas they have had to leave calling relatives who live far away to congratulate them on Christmas Eve and Christmas for another occasion.

In fact, although the population of these towns has almost doubled these days, the return of descendants of the municipality has been less than in other years due to communication problems, according to the mayor, who details that what many neighbors have done is go with their relatives to Zamora, Salamanca or Madrid instead of coming to town themselves as was usual.

“We are having a hard and isolated Christmas,” declares Fernando González, who has kept City Hall closed since last week as it is impossible to carry out any procedure without an internet connection.

And on New Year’s Eve, what?

To make matters worse, the installation of fiber optics to the two isolated towns in that municipality may take time, since the current weather does not help and a good part of the infrastructure still needs to be undertaken.

It is more advanced in Bermillo de Alba, where the fiber optic cable already reaches the urban area, but the connection to homes is still missing, municipal sources have specified, so with a little luck there on New Year’s Eve they will be able to congratulate the year new to your loved ones from a distance, from the landline or by video call. EFE

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