Villagers left without internet for weeks... again

Villagers have been without internet for over two weeks after a storm knocked out their connection.

Storm Austen on 22 October has been blamed for the online blackout to 114 homes in Rougham, Suffolk. The village went without the internet for over a month in 2020 after another storm.

Deborah Hockey, who lives there, said it had meant she had struggled to speak to her 96-year-old father who lives alone 100 miles away, leaving him feeling "quite anxious".

A spokesperson for internet providers CityFibre said they wanted to apologise to residents and added that the firm's team was "working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible".

Hockey said the village had bad phone signal, which meant using 4G to access the internet was difficult.

"I have to be flat against my bedroom window or on the front doorstep to get a tiny bit of signal," she said.

"I pay for television - that's not working; home camera security - not working; can't use the laptop because everything's stored in the cloud.

"It's made life really tricky. I feel really cut off."

A lack of communication from CityFibre had made the situation more stressful, Hockey added.

"We're customers and it would be nice to be able to get through to someone who can explain what's happened and when it's going to be fixed," she said.

Another resident Imogen Coleman is a yoga teacher and said the problems had meant she was unable to check who had booked on to her classes.

"I think it adds just a layer of low-grade stress. We can all put up with this for a certain amount of time, but our village has already experienced a whole month without wi-fi back in 2020 and I think that's in the back of our minds," she added.

Coleman said her teenage son had been unable to get online to complete his homework or speak with friends.

"Although we're all very aware of screen time and limits and everything, a lot of their socialising, especially when you live in a village and it's dark in the evenings, is online stuff.

"And I think he feels he's probably missing out on banter with his mates," she explained.

The CityFibre spokesperson said workers had attempted to fix the issue on 24 October "but were unable to complete the works and are now working closely with the local authority to resolve the matter".

A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said it sympathised with "the plight of residents, but the responsibility lay with CityFibre".

"We received an immediate permit from CityFibre for Linkwood Road for telecom works on October 28, but CityFibre then cancelled as they were unable to start work due to it being a diversion route for an Anglian Water closure. We have not received anything further from them since then."

Telecommunications companies have powers that allow them to carry out emergency works on roads without obtaining prior approval from local authorities.

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