Chard residents are having to rely on battery-powered broadband until the final stage of repairs to a damaged cabinet can be carried out.
In the early hours of March 8, a car collided with a green cabinet at the junction of the A358 Furnham Road and Mount Hindrance Lane at the northern end of Chard, near the town’s household waste recycling centre.
The incident damaged the cabinet enough to take out phone and internet connections for several neighbouring streets, with more than 100 households believed to be affected.
While initial repairs have been carried out, the cabinet is now running on battery power until National Grid can send a team out to reconnect it to the mains power – with no indication as to how soon this could be achieved.
The cabinet links fibre-optic cables running under the main road to the individual properties, with the majority relying on copper cables rather than having ‘fibre to the premises’ broadband.
The extent of the damage meant that Openreach (the company responsible for maintaining these cabinets) could not complete initial repairs until Friday (March 15) – during which time the majority of residents had to rely on mobile data or public WiFi.
A spokesman stated on March 9: “Our network was damaged when a car collided with our green cabinet in Chard on Saturday, disrupting broadband and landline services for some customers in the area.
“Now the area has been made safe our engineers will work to get everyone back up and running as quickly as possible, but due to the extent of the damage there is no quick fix.
“We share the frustration over the damage and understand its impact, so we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as we work on repairs.”
While Openreach has now replaced the cabinet, they cannot reconnect it to the mains power without authority from the National Grid.
The situation is complicated by the cabinet being near ongoing gas pipe upgrades being carried out by Wales & West Utilities as part of a long-running programme which began in January.
Until National Grid can carry out this final stage of the work, the cabinet is running on battery power, with Openreach sending out staff at least once a day to change the batteries – meaning frequent outages for local customers.
A National Grid electricity distribution spokesperson said: “We received a request from Openreach last Friday (March 14) and we are now drawing up a quote for the connection.
“If and when the quote is accepted, we will then be able to carry out the work required.”
A spokesman for Openreach added on Tuesday (March 18): “Our network was damaged when a car collided with a green cabinet in Chard.
“Some repairs have been carried out and we’re working with National Grid electricity distribution on delivering a permanent power supply to the cabinet as soon as possible.”
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