Shetland's damaged subsea cable to Faroe Islands now repaired, confirms operator

A damaged subsea cable to Shetland has been successfully repaired after it left the islands without phone service or internet.

A major incident was declared by police on Thursday after a break in the lines which connect Shetland to the Scottish mainland.

BT group confirmed the broadband and mobile connections were reinstated through a temporary fix on Thursday afternoon.

The cable operator Farosese Telecom has now said the link between Shetland and the Faroe Islands has been fully repaired.

The operator believed the cable had been cut by fishing vessels.

Police urged locals to only make calls in “emergency situations,” adding residents may have to “flag down a vehicle that does not have its blue lights on” if they are unable to get through.

A BT Group spokesperson said: “Following the restoration of all broadband and mobile services to Shetland on Thursday afternoon, Faroese Telecom has confirmed that their subsea cable connecting Shetland with the Faroe Islands has been successfully repaired.

“All services have remained stable since Thursday afternoon when engineers applied a temporary solution to reconnect Shetland to our network.”

Police carried our patrols to ensure the public had access to emergency services while the lines were down.

Officers have now confirmed they will step down following the repairs.

Chief Inspector Stuart Clemenson, area commander for Shetland, said: “I would like to thank all communities on Shetland and our partner agencies for their help and dedication in recent days.

“Thanks to a strong response from partners we were able to make sure the public had access to emergency services while engineers worked to restore communications.

“This is a prime example of how we work together, locally and nationally to make sure that incidents like these have as little impact as possible.

“Such a speedy response from all helped significantly reduce a serious situation developing for our communities and I would like to pay tribute to everyone involved.”