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Shetland Is Cut Off From the World After Undersea Cable Breaks Shetland Is Cut Off From the World After Undersea Cable Breaks
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — Shetland, the Scottish archipelago that lies across the sea from Norway and more than 100 miles north of mainland Britain, was already remote. It became even more so on Thursday, officials said, when an underwater cable broke, cutting off communications for the thousands of people who call the islands home.LONDON — Shetland, the Scottish archipelago that lies across the sea from Norway and more than 100 miles north of mainland Britain, was already remote. It became even more so on Thursday, officials said, when an underwater cable broke, cutting off communications for the thousands of people who call the islands home.
A spokeswoman for BT Group, the telecommunications company that serves the region, said in a statement that some phone, TV, internet and mobile phone services were affected because of the break in a third-party underwater cable that connects Shetland to the Scottish mainland. Just after midnight, a fishing vessel likely damaged an underwater cable connecting Shetland to the Scottish mainland, said Páll Vesturbú, head of infrastructure for Faroese Telecom, a company that both owns and operates the affected submarine fiber optic cable network.
“Engineers are working to divert services via other routes as soon as possible,” the statement said, adding that the third-party provider was trying to restore its link.
BT Group said that anyone who needed emergency services should use other means, like landlines, while service was out. Alistair Carmichael, a member of parliament for Orkney and Shetland, said that similar incidents had happened over the years, with fishing boats as the typical culprit. But he said the loss of connectivity on Thursday was the worst he’d ever seen.
The company did not specify what caused the break or when exactly it learned of it. A spokeswoman said that the company was looking at “all options” to restore service. “It’s not unknown for these things to happen but this is a particularly catastrophic break,” Mr. Carmichael said.
A statement from the office of Alistair Carmichael, a member of parliament for Orkney and Shetland, said repairs could take two days or longer. Undersea cables, generally buried in the bottom of the ocean, face a variety of hazards, such as anchors and fishing tackle, according to the Danish Cable Protection Committee. In just seconds, the cables carry the internet across the ocean floor, and link electricity and energy between countries.
Another cable to Shetland, from the Faroe Islands, was still awaiting repairs after it was damaged last week, the BBC reported. This particular network stretches 621 miles among the islands in that region, according to the Submarine Cable Map.
About 23,000 people live in Shetland, according to Scottish government statistics. BT Group, a telecommunications company based in London, said it leases a portion of this network, which it uses to provide service to the Shetland region. A spokesman said that on Thursday broadband internet outages had been the most widespread problem, with mobile phone service also compromised to a lesser extent. Landline phone service remained mostly unaffected, he said.
The police in Scotland said in a statement on Thursday that the outage was affecting some land and mobile lines on Shetland, including the internet. “Technicians have been working all day to restore services to the extent possible,” Mr. Vesturbú said, adding that repair of the latest damage was expected to be completed next week. A different cable that is part of the same network broke last week, probably for the same reason, he said.
A spokesman for BT Group said it was working with Faroese Telecom to restore services temporarily. An estimated time for this restoration was not yet available, he said, adding that the cable that broke last week, which connects the Faroe Islands to Shetland, was scheduled to be fixed by Saturday.
BT Group said that anyone needing emergency services should use other means, like landlines, while service was out.
Police Scotland said in a news release that “extra resources” were being sent to Shetland to assist with emergency services. They urged residents to avoid non-essential calls.
“We are advising people not to make non-urgent calls for the time being so that all available lines can be used for emergencies if required,” Superintendent David Ross said in the statement, advising residents to travel to the nearest police station to report an emergency if emergency lines are not connecting.“We are advising people not to make non-urgent calls for the time being so that all available lines can be used for emergencies if required,” Superintendent David Ross said in the statement, advising residents to travel to the nearest police station to report an emergency if emergency lines are not connecting.
Officers were patrolling the region in vehicles and on foot, he said, and the authorities were working with partners to make additional resources available.Officers were patrolling the region in vehicles and on foot, he said, and the authorities were working with partners to make additional resources available.
By Thursday afternoon, there were visible signs that Shetland was experiencing an outage. A website for the Shetland Islands Council appeared to be down and a phone call placed to the council did not connect. About 23,000 people live in Shetland an archipelago ensconced in the middle of the North Sea of around 100 islands, 16 of which are inhabited, according to the region’s website. It is a popular destination for tourists.
Designated by UNESCO as a global geopark, it is a place of rugged landscapes featuring ancient rocks that was once colonized by the Vikings before Scotland gained control of the archipelago in the 14th century, Shetland’s website said.
By Thursday afternoon, visible signs of Shetland’s isolation were obvious. A website for the Shetland Islands Council appeared to be down and a phone call placed to the council did not connect.
Another call to Shetland College, in the town of Lerwick, also did not connect.Another call to Shetland College, in the town of Lerwick, also did not connect.
There are about 100 islands in Shetland, only 16 of which are inhabited. Travel to and from Shetland is not easy, and requires an overnight ferry or a flight from Aberdeen, on the eastern coast of Scotland. Travel to and from Shetland is not easy, and requires an overnight ferry or a flight from Aberdeen, on the eastern coast of Scotland.
Christine Chung contributed reporting.