Phones and internet could be out of action for days due to major fault
Andrew Hirst
Phone, internet and mobile connections are expected to be out of action until Saturday.
BT has texted customers across Shetland to say it was aware of a “major outage” and working to resolve the issue as “quickly as possible”.
It added that services should be fixed “by the end of Saturday” and apologised for the inconvenience.
Police have urged people not to make non-urgent calls so all available lines can be used for emergencies if required.
The problem is reported to be due to a “third-party subsea cable” connecting Shetland with the Scottish mainland.
BT said in a statement: “Engineers are working to divert services via other routes as soon as possible and we’ll provide further updates.
“Our external subsea provider is also looking to restore their link quickly.”
The problem is affecting homes and businesses throughout the isles, with many shops unable to take card payments.
Shetland Broadband said its services were unaffected, however.
Mareel, the Dowry and Hay’s Dock café all posted on social media to say they were open as usual.
Police said officers were patrolling in vehicles and on foot to reassure people.
BT said anyone who needs to call 999 should try their landline or their mobile, even if they don’t have signal from their own mobile provider.
Shetland is connected with the mainland via the SHEFA2 cable. It runs from runs from Tórshavn in Faroe to Maywick, then to Sandwick and onwards to Ayre of Cara in Orkney.
From Orkney it travels to Banff in Aberdeenshire.
The cable was severed south of Orkney in 2013 leaving many homes and businesses without internet services for several days.
