COVID 19 - Statement

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As you are aware, South Afican Government Health and Safety regulations and the guidelines stipulated in various Government memorandums, declarations and gazettes, severely restrict the movement of everyone, including SKYWORKS Personnel, during this 3 week Corona Covid-19 lock-down period. 

SKYWORKS Telecoms is however a registered ICASA Telecommunications Provider and as such, we are permitted to maintain critical Telecommunications infrastructure, which is required to help keep businesses and households connected and informed.

Since the national lock-down was announced by President Ramaphosa, SKYWORKS have taken immediate steps to ensure that we are able to support our customers and to maintain our Telecommunications Network as best we can during the lock-down.

Proactive Steps taken:

During this week, SKYWORKS obtained several permits from Municipal and Government authorities which we believe, will be sufficient for a limited number of SKYWORKS personnel to perform maintenance and repairs to SKYWORKS Network Infrastructure.

SKYWORKS also activated VOIP and other solutions that empower our helpdesk team members to support SKYWORKS customers remotely and safely from the convenience of their homes. The helpdesk (066 470 6494) will remain open and available to you every day of the week from 08:00 until 22:00 pm (as per usual). We anticipate that the line quality of phone calls may be poorer than expected and we apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused.

SKYWORKS furthermore acquired additional bandwidth from our Fibre Providers in anticipation that there will be an increased bandwidth demand from our user base during this lock-period. If required, we will ramp-up bandwidth as it becomes necessary.

Additional Network Equipment was acquired so that we are better positioned to maintain and repair our network infrastructure during the lockdown period. Due to the closure of International ports and factories, local suppliers’ stocks of certain critical components had already run out. What’s more, during the lockdown period, most of our suppliers will be closed for business. This means that SKYWORKS may not be able to restock emergency equipment during this time. We are however in talks with Critical suppliers to see what can be done to mitigate this risk.

Freedom of movement:

Due to the Government Restrictions, SKYWORKS personnel will not be able to move around freely, this will affect and restrict the level of support that we are able to provide onsite. SKYWORKS network and infrastructure is fortunately setup in such a manner that most of our customers’ support requirements can be serviced remotely. 

Field Support and Health Risks:

In extreme cases, where our helpdesk is not able to get a customer reconnected, the customer will be requested to complete an online Field Support Call-Out Request Form which will be submitted to SKYWORKS management for approval and authorization.

The call-out request form contains a Health Declaration Form, if the customer or anyone else onsite is ill or shows any symptoms of illness, SKYWORKS will regrettably not perform a callout to the customer. We have taken this decision in line with the seriousness of the COVID-19 virus and how easily it is transmitted to others. 

Health and Safety Protocols 

SKYWORKS team members have been trained to follow health and safety protocols and they have been provided with enough personal protective and sanitation gear to ensure your safety as well as theirs. SKYWORKS Field Technicians are furthermore under strict instructions to leave any unsafe working environment. 

If a customer or anyone else on the premises show any signs or symptoms of illness, SKYWORKS will not be able to support that customer onsite for the duration of the lock-down period.

Lastly, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support and for your patience and understanding during this Lock-down period. 

Stay safe, we wish you well during this testing time.