Around 10,000 properties in Rushcliffe and Nottingham, and some surrounding areas have been hit by internet and telephone outages.
4:30 pm – NEW – Statement from Openreach as work to reconnect 10,000 customers on target
Openreach update: Team report having problems replacing the 700m damaged cable and they need to dig up the road and set up traffic lights and repair a substation in the Meadows.
Rushcliffe Borough Council says IT is “monitoring the situation”.
A spokesperson said: “We are monitoring the situation with the County Council and will share updates from BT Openreach as and when they inform service users of the latest.”
The failures, which are expected to continue for another two days due to “malicious damage” to 700 meters of Openreach network cables. The issues began over the weekend, causing major disruption to phone and broadband services in affected areas.
The cable was damaged close to Trent Bridge.
Openreach, the company responsible for maintaining the communications infrastructure, issued a statement early Monday (October 14), informing residents that engineers are already on-site, working as quickly as possible to replace the damaged cables. However, the company warns that full restoration may still be up to 48 hours away.
A spokesperson for Openreach said, “[Engineers] are working as quickly and safely as they can, but we expect it could take around 48 hours before everyone affected has phone and broadband services fully restored. We’re really disappointed that people living and working here are bearing the brunt of criminal behaviour and theft from our network.”
The affected areas include parts of West Bridgford, The Meadows, Arkwright, Bingham, Cotgrave, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Ruddington and Whatton.
Residents have voiced their frustration at the extended disruption, with many dependent on internet access for work, education, and keeping in touch with loved ones.
The Openreach spokesperson further highlighted the broader impact of the incident: “These attacks cause significant damage and unacceptable disruption to the lives of local people and put vulnerable people at risk.”
“We urge people to call 101 to report any suspicious activity around our network to the Police; if members of the public do believe a crime is in progress then they should dial 999.”
The consequences of the cable damage are being felt widely across the region, with schools, businesses, and individuals experiencing an abrupt cut in communications. Many businesses are unable to process payments or coordinate daily operations, and those working from home are facing severe disruptions to productivity.
The incident has also sparked anger from residents who are disappointed that criminal behaviour has led to such a significant breakdown in essential services.
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