Colvend and Southwick Community Council to Discuss Disruption of Broadband Services
Colvend and Southwick Community Council is set to address a pressing issue regarding the potential dangers brought about by the recent loss of broadband services in their area. The community was severely affected last month when an Openreach cabinet at the Rockcliffe roadend failed, leaving numerous households without connection for a daunting 10-day period from October 14 to 24. This outage had a significant impact on elderly residents who rely on landlines for communication, especially those without access to mobile phones.
The transition of landlines from analogue to digital, where all calls are routed through the broadband service, posed a critical problem during the outage. This meant that essential services such as the ability to make emergency calls, including dialling 999, were completely cut off for residents without mobile phones. The community council expressed disappointment in Openreach’s response to the situation, labelling it as “lamentable”.
Simon Pain, the Vice-Convenor of the community council, highlighted the lack of preparedness from Openreach in handling such emergencies and emphasised the vulnerability of elderly residents who heavily rely on landlines for communication. Businesses in the area were also adversely affected, as card payment terminals were rendered useless, leading to financial constraints as people had to resort to using cash due to the lack of broadband connectivity.
Furthermore, individuals working from home faced significant disruptions to their business operations, indicating a cascading effect of the broadband outage on the community’s daily activities. The malfunction also impacted personal care alarms, crucial for individuals requiring urgent assistance, further underscoring the far-reaching consequences of the service disruption.
Despite inviting an Openreach representative to discuss the issue at the community council meeting, there was no firm commitment from the company to attend. Openreach stated that a team is working to address the power issue that caused the outage, but they could not be present at the meeting. The company advised affected individuals to contact their service providers for assistance.
In response to the situation, an Openreach spokesperson expressed regret over the impact of the cabinet outage, attributing it to a complex earthing issue in the cabling system. Measures are being taken to implement alternative power solutions to prevent similar incidents in the future. While striving to restore services promptly during disruptions, Openreach acknowledged the challenges in resolving intricate technical issues swiftly.
The community council’s discussion reflects the importance of reliable broadband services for maintaining communication, safety, and economic activities within the community. Addressing the vulnerabilities exposed by the recent outage is crucial to ensuring the resilience of essential services for all residents, particularly those who rely on traditional communication methods. By actively engaging with service providers and advocating for improved contingency plans, communities can strengthen their preparedness for unforeseen disruptions to essential services.