Fibre broadband operator NetLink to resume service after Covid-19 incident

NETLINK Trust has received permission from the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to resume the provision of fibre services to homes and offices, it said on Tuesday.

Last week, the IMDA ordered the company to suspend all service orders for homes and offices after four workers under one of its contractors tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

NetLink had said it would resume services after it has assessed and improved its Covid-19 safety measures.

The fibre broadband operator said on Tuesday the IMDA's assessment found that the measures adopted by NetLink and its contractors were in compliance with the advisories issued by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Manpower.

NetLink said it had reminded its contractors' workers to regularly sanitise their hands before and after jobs, observe safe distancing, minimise interaction time, and take extra care when cleaning work sites.

To provide additional assurance to customers, it said it will now require its employees and its contractors' workers to wear face shields where it is practical to do so, in addition to face masks.

The company warned customers to expect longer waiting times for service orders to be fulfilled, due to a mandatory 14-day Stay Home Order for all workers in the construction sector.

It said the ongoing restrictions on foreign workers would significantly constrain its capacity to fulfil service requests, adding that it would prioritise homes currently without broadband access and those requiring urgent fault repairs.

Shares of mainboard-listed NetLink NBN Trust, which wholly owns NetLink Trust, were up 0.5 Singapore cent or 0.5 per cent at 98.5 cents as at midday on Tuesday.