Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Labeled as "visual contamination" and a "spiderweb of cables", telephone cables in an upscale Lima district will soon be removed and placed underground.

Residents in the district of Miraflores, one of Peru's most touristic areas, have complained that an excessive amount of telephone and electric cables in their district is making the streets look unattractive.

In response to these claims and other concerns, the district's municipal council has prohibited the installation of more telephone and electric cables and has ordered that all cables, which are currently on posts, be placed underground.

According to an ordinance published in the Andean country's official gazette, district authorities have given electric and telephone companies 18 months to take their cables down and place them underground.

It was reported that the majority of cables were old and unused. Furthermore, it was noted that the majority of them were hanging below the permitted safety height.

Enrique Flores, a consultant for the district's Urban Infrastructure Department explained that 70 percent of the cables hanging on posts were old and not in use.

"We are talking about thousands and thousands of meters. What is good is that Telefonica has already committed to organizing its cables. They are already removing cables that are not being used," said Flores.