News / Call to probe broadband services
SHETLAND MSP Tavish Scott is calling on telecom regulator OFCOM to investigate the quality of broadband services to the islands.
Following damage to the Faroese Shefa 2 fibre optic cable that connects Shetland with the rest of the world, customers of Shetland Telecom, Shetland Broadband and BT were re-routed via the Farice-1 cable.
However, customers of other internet service providers (ISPs) such as AOL and Talk Talk appear to have had their service disrupted.
The LibDem MSP said on Friday that many islanders had contacted him over the festive period with complaints about the lack of broadband service.
He said he would be writing to OFCOM as it appeared to him that some ISPs offer a less resilient service than others.
“The fibre optic link from Shetland via Orkney to the Scottish mainland has been damaged. This is not the first time that has happened.
“But there are ways to overcome that by rerouting the broadband connection via Faroe. That is a commercial matter for the companies who provide broadband. Three companies make sure there are resilient services for Shetland.
“The question is why don’t all companies selling broadband to Shetland customers do that.
“I am therefore asking OFGEM to investigate the service that Shetland gets from such companies and to suggest ways that this can be improved and maintained when such incidents happen in the future,” he said.
An update from Shetland Telecom is available at: https://www.facebook.com/shetlandtelecom/posts/648276421901128
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