UPDATE2 Big Fibre Optic Cable Break Hits Broadband ISPs in Hull and Leeds

A number of broadband ISPs in Hull and Leeds (England) have suffered almost 24 hours of service disruption following a break in one of the area’s major fibre optic supply cables, which appears to have been damaged as a result of a JCB digger accidentally cutting through several cables during local street works.

The break, which occurred at the Leeds (West Yorkshire) end of a fibre optic cable that also helps to supply services in Hull (East Yorkshire), first began to affect services in the two areas during Tuesday (7th October) morning.

It’s understood that telecoms engineers reached the site by 11:15am and repair work has carried on through the night. At the time of writing this problem is on-going and some of the ISPs affected include Connexin and local incumbent KC (KCOM), among others.

Upon closer inspection we’ve learnt that the break itself appears to be centred on the Quarry Hill area of central Leeds, where “significant damage” has been caused to a set of physical fibre optic connections (pictured). The last official update on this incident was posted at 5:03pm yesterday.

KC Service Update

Work continues to plan the fibre replacement and to pull cables back ready for replacement overnight. The break was caused by a JCB going through multiple fibre runs.

Kcom engineers will be working through the night to repair each fibre and this is still being planned. Serious consideration has to be given to site safety and Kcom have engineers on-site to carry on the repair work through the night.

We thank you for your patience and understanding during this extended major outage.

No firm ETA for a fix has been issued, which isn’t surprising given the extent of the damage. Unfortunately it’s not uncommon for poorly planned street works to result in such damage and a large number of customers, including many businesses in Hull, are currently being affected.

UPDATE 11:45am

A status update issued at 10am today states: “After working through the night, some services have been restored. We are still working hard to resolve on site in Leeds. We will update you as soon as we know more and we thank you again for your patience.”

UPDATE 1:45pm

The latest update confirms that the damage has caused a loss of service to “leased line customers and some voice customers“. Apparently KC’s engineers will continue to work throughout today and into this evening. “The damage area is extremely hazardous and difficult to access, and we expect that it will take at least a further 24 hours to restore service to all affected customers,” said the update.