MANDAUE City officials are calling upon telecommunication firms to work with them in transferring their aerial cables underground as a way to protect their internet services during severe weather conditions.Engineer Krister Cosedo, head of Mandaue City’s Management Information System Office, told Sunstar Cebu that the city would be able to protect its internet connection from being affected by external threats such as strong winds by burying their cables underground.Cosedo said they made the proposal following the devastation brought about by Typhoon Odette (Rai) in Cebu last December. The typhoon toppled communication lines for weeks, preventing relief assistance from other areas from getting through.Placing fiber optic conduits underground would give superior protection for the fiber cables from damage by severe weather conditions, according to Cosedo.As the cables are buried underground, Cosedo said fiber optic conduits would not need as much maintenance as aboveground or aerial conduits, making the maintenance cheaper.Cosedo said they initially met with one telecommunication firm after Typhoon Odette’s onslaught in Cebu to talk about the proposal. He said the firm has expressed interest to the city’s proposal.“We are currently looking for partners to make this proposal (underground fiber optics conduit) possible. As of now we already have one, but no deal has been closed at the moment,” said Cosedo.