Openreach on Cumbria’s Flood Hit Broadband and Phone Services

The fallout from Storm Desmond has been felt across the United Kingdom, although problems with broadband, phone and related power services appear to have been most obvious in Cumbria (e.g. Carlisle and Workington) and some neighbouring counties.

In the grander scheme of things the event itself hasn’t been as bad as some we’ve seen in the past (across the UK as a whole) and indeed only a few ISPs appear to have posted related advisories, with Sky Broadband even informing affected customers to call a special team on 0800 0158 639, if so required.

Mercifully the flood waters are now subsiding and most of the homes that were left without power over the weekend have today been reconnected, which will also help to resolve a lot of the broadband and phone issues. In keeping with this we felt as if our readers might like an official update on the situation from the national telecoms operator, BTOpenreach.

An Openreach Spokesperson told ISPreview.co.uk:

“Phone services for the majority of households and businesses in Cumbria are continuing to work normally despite the severe weather. BT is making every effort to restore service for those local households and businesses which have been affected.

Around 500 customers are without a landline in Glenridding after the collapse of Pooley Bridge, which carried BT cabling. BT has stationed satellite vehicles so that the emergency services and local residents can make urgent calls.

Openreach engineers have managed to rig a new cable across the river between two trees and when conditions are sufficiently safe, will begin connecting the new cable to the network to restore full service.

Elsewhere in Cumbria, some customers have lost broadband services as a result of power cuts or flooding of street cabinets, but most of them have continued to have a working phone service. As flooding subsides and people are able to return to their homes, we will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

End.