HUNDREDS of businesses and homes across a large area of West Somerset were left for several hours without telephones and internet access on Thursday, February 15.It happened after the main optical fibre cable bringing services into the district suffered what BT described as ‘third party damage’.
In plain English, a contractor is believed to have cut through the cable while carrying out works near Taunton.
Massive disruption resulted for businesses in Minehead and Watchet and the surrounding area as they were unable to make or receive telephone calls, nor access broadband or dial-up internet services.
Email systems were also inoperable and some mobile phone calls were affected because they are often routed along underground cables between masts.
Even the emergency 999 telephone system was brought down by the damaged cable and more police had to be out on the streets in case they were needed.
A BT spokeswoman told The Crier the exact cause of the incident was yet to be determined.
She said 999 calls were always a priority in such a situation and the service was restored ‘almost immediately’.
However, she said it took about three hours before all telephones and internet access were properly restored.
The incident served to highlight the vulnerability of modern businesses to sudden technology failures.
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