TELECOMMUNICATIONS: FIRES IN PORTUGAL CAUSED DAMAGE ESTIMATED AT EURO 6.5M.

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Portugal Telecom (PT) has estimated that the fires which devastated the country over a three-week period this Summer caused damage estimated at Euro 6.5 million, the group's Manager David Lopes announced on August 29. Almost 5,600 telephone poles were burnt, 1,000 kilometres of copper wire and 230 kilometres of fibre optic cable were destroyed, equivalent to the distance between Lisbon and Paris, Mr Lopes said. The district of Castelo Branco (centre) suffered almost 50% of the total damage. The Portuguese telecoms group also said it hoped to reconnect before the end of September the 9,000 or so telephone lines that are still out of action. Subscription charges have been suspended while the lines remain disconnected.

Re-establishing the mobile phone network is the company's priority for reasons of security, in order to avoid the total isolation of some regions, PT says. In the case of priority buildings, such as...

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