Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Internet Outage Ramps Up Frustration For Northland Businesses
Businesses in Northland's Kaipara District say they're frustrated by a 13-hour internet outage that forced many shops to close or switch to cash-only transactions for a day.
Dargaville Community Development Board manager Sue Curtis said Wednesday's fibre outage meant eftpos terminals and ATMs stopped working, and banks closed.
As a result, anyone who didn't have cash on hand before the 8am cable break could not spend money at the town's businesses.
Spark has confirmed the outage was caused when a culvert was being dug near Tangowahine, between Whangārei and Dargaville.
The digger hit the main fibre-optic cable providing broadband internet to Dargaville, Maungaturoto, Paparoa and Ruawai.
Lines company Northpower, which also provides internet services, said all internet providers in the area and more than 2070 homes and businesses were affected.
The cable was repaired about 9.30pm on Wednesday.
Curtis said the cable break was especially frustrating because it followed a series of major infrastructure failures.
"It's disappointing because not so long ago we had that power outage which shut down the whole of Northland, and now we have a digger driver who digs through a fairly recently placed fibre network. They've dug straight through it and it's affected so many people," she said.
Curtis said affected businesses should be compensated, but it was hard to put a figure on how much they had lost.
"It would be good if they could be, but it is really is up to the providers to come up with a solution."
Curtis said the day-long outage came just as the town was busy with visitors, many of whom were camping at the popular Kai Iwi Lakes or the 107km-long Ripiro Beach, or visiting Waipoua Forest further north on State Highway 12.
The damaged cable consisted of a number of fibre-optic cables, some owned by Spark and others by Chorus.
Spark referred questions about whether the company would try to recover its costs to Chorus.
Chorus has not responded to RNZ enquiries since Wednesday.
A Spark spokeswoman said professional locators could advise contractors on where cables were buried, and checks could also be done [www.beforeudig.co.nz online].
In June last year, power was cut to all of Northland after contractors carrying out routine maintenance unbolted three legs of a pylon at once, causing it to topple over.
The region's backup high-voltage line was disconnected at the time for maintenance.
RNZ
New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.
Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.
Watercare: Watercare Gets To Work On First Permanent Non-Potable Water Tanker Filling Station In Māngere
Alcohol Healthwatch: Licensing Decision Lauded For Prohibiting Buy Now Pay Later Schemes In Bottle Stores
Motor Industry Association: Vehicle Registrations Up 5.6% In December, But Year-To-Date Sales Reflect Market Challenges
BNZ: Depression-era Bequest Still Helping 88 Years Later
Hugh Grant: How Can Telehealth And Home Healthcare Solutions Be Helpful?
New Zealand Merino Company: The New Zealand Merino Company Will Investigate PETA Claims
