Colvend and Southwick Community Council to discuss potentially life-threatening loss of broadband services

The Colvend and Southwick Community Council is set to address a critical issue regarding the potentially life-threatening loss of broadband services in the area. Last month, a malfunction in an Openreach cabinet at the Rockcliffe roadend left dozens of households without internet access for 10 days, from October 14 to 24. This outage particularly affected elderly residents who did not have mobile phones, as the switch from analogue to digital landlines meant they were unable to contact emergency services or use care call alarm systems.

Vice-convenor Simon Pain expressed concern over Openreach’s response to the situation, describing it as “lamentable.” The community council will discuss the matter at their upcoming meeting, where they had hoped to have an Openreach representative present to address the issue but were unsuccessful in securing a commitment. Pain highlighted the lack of a thorough risk assessment by Openreach regarding the impact of broadband or power failures on vulnerable communities, affecting businesses, individuals working from home, and those reliant on personal care alarms.

While Openreach has acknowledged the issue and is working on alternative power solutions to prevent future outages, they have apologised for the delay in restoring services. The company encouraged those experiencing problems to reach out to their service providers first. Despite efforts to rectify the situation, concerns remain over the potential risks posed by infrastructure failures in the future.

In conclusion, the community council’s proactive approach in addressing this broadband service outage highlights the importance of reliable communication networks, especially for vulnerable individuals who rely on such services for safety and support. The incident serves as a reminder of the crucial role that broadband services play in modern society and the need for effective contingency plans to mitigate the impact of infrastructure failures on communities.