In order for the Gold Star telephone system to be completely installed and operated smoothly, Sonadezi received strong support from Ho Chi Minh and Dong Nai Post Offices, among others. Given a fact that many technicians directly contributed their parts to this important project, Sonadezi would like to introduce the story on some of them who actively contributed to successful operation of the Gold Star telephone system.
Telephone pole casting supervisor
When Sonadezi invested in the Gold Star system, in order to have quality and suitable telephone poles, the Company decided to hire Postal Works Company No. 3 under the General Department of Post and Telecommunications (based in Thu Duc) to cast new (7.3m high) concrete telephone poles for cable pulling in Bien Hoa 1 Industrial Park. Mr. Tran Minh Tri, a former expert of Dong Nai Post Office who had then just returned from his training in the Soviet Union, was tasked to supervise the casting of concrete poles.
This was a rather difficult and physically demanding task as he had to drive himself from Bien Hoa to the casting workshop every day for close supervision of iron work, formwork and ingredient mixing for pole casting. All stages had to be inspected and approved in writing by Mr. Tran Minh Tri before pole casting. Concrete curing, to ensure its quality in line according to applicable standards, was also closely monitored as required. With years of professional experience and proper training during his career, Mr. Tran Minh Tri successfully completed the task. More than three hundred concrete telephone poles were completed on time with high quality, without any defects.
On the day of handover to the Company, the Director of Postal Works Company No. 3 personally delivered the poles. Meeting the Director of Dong Nai Industrial Development and Investment Company (who was his former boss at the Ho Chi Minh City Post Office), he “blamed” lightly: “Where did you find such a strict construction supervisor!”.
Youngest telephone technician at the company
After Sonadezi’s Gold Star system was directly connected and became a telecommunications gateway of Ho Chi Minh City Post Office via the microwave antenna system, its next task was to install landline phones for its customers in the Industrial Park who wished to have 5-digit phone numbers to place IDD calls. By charging the subscription fee of one out of every two phones installed in its a discount policy, the number of subscribers increased rapidly. Most factories had two or more phones installed.
As the Company were unable to pull the telephone cable to the cable cabinets in the IP, for initial subscribers, outdoor telephone cables were connected directly from the system to a customer’s phone. Its first cable technician was Mr. Phan Chien Thang – who was a fresh graduate of Tien Giang Postal Technician School and was invited by the the Company’s Director
While doing cabling for the first subscriber, which was Viettronic Bien Hoa Factory, Mr. Phan Chien Thang was only 17 years and 8 months old. The Company’s Director held the ladder for Mr. Thang to climb up for cabling while joking that: “I have to hold the ladder carefully for him to do his work. If he slips and falls in any work accident, I would be in big trouble as he’s not old enough to work.”
Years of providing services to customers trained the young cabling worker Phan Chien Thang to become one of the key workers of the Company. After the Gold Star system completed its historic mission, along with the growth of Dong Nai Telecommunications network, the telecommunications business was handed over to the Provincial Post Office. Mr. Thang then took an an assignment in the Provincial Post Office for a while before returning to Sonadezi. He is now a highly skilled officer of Sonadezi Environment Joint Stock Company, one of Sonadezi’s subsidiary.
Spending the nights with the Gold Star system
When installing the Gold Star system, experts from Ho Chi Minh City Post Office and skilled technicians from Dong Nai Post Office were invited to install, mount and calibrate the microwave ovens on the top of antenna poles. Thousands of threads of all colors from blue, red, purple and yellow from the cables were pulled out to be connected with the system, cable cabinets and input and output ports of the system with the automated capacity computing and billing functions.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dong was the “most experienced” system technician of Dong Nai Post tasked for bridging connections between such a “mess” of threads using the correct ports of connection. This work was meticulous, requiring high precision and silence. Therefore, when all group work during the day was completed and everyone had gone home, it was time for Mr. Dong to carry out his work. Mr. Thuyen, its Director, said, “Just let Dong do his work without disturbing him. I’m sure Dong will do it excellently.” It was a great encouragement for Mr. Dong
After a few nights of hard work with the “mess” of threads, the switchboard connection with the microwave cables, cable cabinet and automated billing functions, etc. was completed. Everyone was pleased to the this after days of hard work at night by the technician Nguyen Van Dong
Unfortunately, after the system went into operation, other technicians Lam Thanh Hoa, Nguyen Van Dung, Nguyen Thi Tich … were seconded from Dong Nai Post Office to the company while Mr. Nguyen Van Dong was retained at Dong Nai Post Office. His contributions to an effective Gold Star system were significant and worthy of recognition.