Major BT network incident – The Shetland Isles is without internet and phone lines

BT has said that a major network event has been declared affecting the Shetland Isles. The island has a population of just under 23,000.

Repairs to another cable connecting Shetland and Faroe are ongoing after it was damaged last week, this is expected to be repaired on Saturday.

The root cause of failure has been confirmed and is due to a sub-sea cable planned works carried out by a third-party provider. 

Due to a break in a third-party subsea cable connecting Shetland with the Scottish mainland, almost all broadband and mobile services are affected.

Engineers are working to divert services via other routes as soon as possible and their external subsea provider is also looking to restore their link quickly.

Police Scotland has said it was working with partners including the Scottish Fire and Recue Service and HM Coastguard to bring additional emergency support to the island.

Reports suggest that fishing vessels damaged the two cables, but many people don’t believe this would happen twice in a matter of weeks.

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.