Telecommunication Cables Damaged by Earthworks

16 Mr Zaqy Mohamad asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what is the frequency of incidents involving the cutting of telecommunication cables by contractors carrying out earthworks; and (b) what steps are being taken to reduce such occurrences.

The Minister for Communications and Information (Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Madam, the number of cable cut incidents has increased in recent years. The number of incidents has grown steadily, from four each in 2013 and 2014 to seven in 2015. In 2016 alone, there have already been three of such incidents.

Madam, the rise in the number of cable cuts has been due to an increase in the number of road works and construction projects across Singapore in the past few years. All 18 cable cuts from 2013 to 2016 were caused by third-party contractors involved in the construction of new mass rapid transit (MRT) lines, such as the Downtown Line and the Thomson East-Coast Line, power cabling, water and sewage piping works and other development projects. Of the 18, one was caused by contractors hired by a telecommunications operator (telco).

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) takes a serious view of all cable cut incidents. Such incidents result in significant disruptions to telecommunication and media services delivered to our homes and businesses, causing great inconvenience to thousands of subscribers for many hours.

IDA's investigations revealed that most, if not all, of these cable cut incidents could have been avoided if contractors had exercised due diligence and caution when undertaking road works and construction projects. These contractors failed to comply with clearly established standard operating procedures (SOPs), such as ascertaining the location of telecommunication cables prior to commencing earthworks and protecting underground cables against damage when they carried out their earthworks. In 16 of these cases, the service plans and cable detection reports obtained by the contractors clearly indicated the presence of telecommunication cables. In the remaining two cases, the contractors did not obtain the necessary service plans and engage cable detection workers to detect the cables.

Madam, the Telecommunications Act requires any contractor who intends to carry out earthworks within the vicinity of telecommunication cables to take certain precautions. They have to:

first, give seven or more days' notice to the relevant telcos before the proposed earthworks;

second, obtain information on the location of telecommunication cables and consult the operators on appropriate steps to prevent possible cable damage while the earthworks are being carried out; and

finally, engage licensed telecommunication cable detection workers to detect such cables so that contractors can avoid these cables when carrying out their work.

Any contractor who fails to observe these precautions and damages any telecommunication cables while carrying out earthworks may be fined up to $1 million and imprisoned for five years. IDA has previously prosecuted errant parties in Court, which has imposed penalties ranging from $60,000 to $570,000.

Given the rise in the number of cable cut incidents, IDA is doing more. It is working closely with public agencies and telcos on preventive measures. I understand that our telcos operators have agreed to advise contractors on the type of earthworks that should be avoided and the additional procedures to adhere to before and during earthworks. These include digging "trial holes" to locate any cables in the vicinity before commencing any earthworks and to contact the relevant telcos should they encounter any difficulty in locating the cables. IDA has also been participating in regular dialogue sessions held by agencies, such as the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Energy Market Authority (EMA), with their contractors. These sessions are meant to educate the contractors on the established SOPs and the precautionary measures needed to prevent a cable from being cut.

To aid efforts in locating telecommunication cables going forward, IDA has directed all telcos to indicate GPS geographical coordinates for new deployments of telecommunication cables and manholes on their service plans; and to install metallic tracer wires along new underground optical fibre cables. These measures will help facilitate the detection of new underground telecommunication cables and, hopefully, reduce the occurrence of cable cuts.

At the same time, IDA will thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible for cable cuts, and will apply for deterrent sentences upon conviction.

Mdm Speaker, frequent telecommunication cable cuts will diminish Singapore's reputation as a reliable business and financial hub, and undermine our efforts to build a Smart Nation. My Ministry and IDA will continue to work closely with other public agencies to reduce the frequency of such cuts. I wish to emphasise that the parties involved in road works or construction projects must also adopt the necessary precautions to avoid such incidents. Only through a concerted effort by all relevant parties can cable cut incidents be avoided.

Mdm Speaker: Mr Zaqy Mohamad.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad (Chua Chu Kang): I thank the Minister for the reply. I have two supplementary questions.

Firstly, what are the Ministry's estimates in terms of the numbers of consumers or businesses affected and the number of hours impacted generally from the 18 cases that were raised?

Secondly, does the Minister think that the fines imposed are sufficient in terms of compensating and making good on the impact and damages done in each of those cases, and what is the average fine imposed or damages received in each case?

Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: I thank the Member for the two supplementary questions. On the second question, as mentioned in my reply, the range of fines determined by the Court is from $60,000 to $570,000. We think they are adequate. In fact, we have worked with all the operators to make sure that they can avoid such an incident.

On the first question as to the estimate, it varies. We have sometimes as long as a couple of days, as well as a couple of hours, and the consumers affected can also vary, depending on the network configuration. The largest area we know of is probably in some parts of the areas in the northwest of Singapore. By and large, the most important thing is that the telcos have remediation programmes in place to make sure that we can minimise the disruption.

At the end of the day, if we can minimise the cable cuts, then we do not have to deal with all these problems. We know that our underground is getting congested and, therefore, we need to work with the agencies and, more importantly, to educate the contractors that they have to take due diligence to avoid such an incident.