Jersey’s telecommunications cables repaired

Wednesday 14 December 2016

Three of Jersey’s telecommunications cables, which were severed by a ship's anchor, are now fully repaired.

Early last week a ship dragging its anchor across the seabed in the English Channel sliced through the key cables, meaning the Island had to rely on reduced connectivity to Europe and the UK.

Cable owners Jersey Telecom (JT), Sure and BT said the damage could take up to three weeks to repair, but the submarine cables are now fixed just two weeks later after a collaborative effort between the providers.

In a press release, the three firms thanked BT for their diligence in fixing the cables and to the JT and Sure engineers for ensuring that there was no noticeable impact on customer services during that time.

This damage was the second incident of its kind this year. In January, another network cable was severed by a ship that dropped its anchor in stormy weather.