Major outage leaves thousands without internet access

Thousands of people in the east end of Glasgow have no internet access after an incident at the weekend.

Homes in Dennistoun and the surrounding areas have been left without Wifi since Sunday night and the issue could potentially take days to fix.

Coronavirus restrictions mean most office workers are currently working from home, while school pupils above primary three are learning online.

Openreach engineers are working to repair the issue, which a company spokesperson said was caused by a power-related incident having a knock-on effect.

One resident told STV News he had considered breaching Covid restrictions by going to a friend’s flat to work.

He said: “It caused much anxiety and stress last night because I wasn’t sure what I was doing in the morning.

“I am too busy at work to take a day off.”

The company has received more than 600 reports of faults and said it may take some time before repairs can be completed as there is significant damage to a major cable route.

Councillor Allan Casey, who represents Dennistoun, said: “I have had multiple reports of an Internet outage across Dennistoun from a number of [different] internet providers.

“I have contacted each provider to try and ensure any repairs are carried out ASAP given how many people are working and learning from home.”

Faults have been reported to be affecting several major providers.

An Openreach spokesperson said: “A power incident in Bridgeton, Glasgow last night has had a knock-on effect on our digital network.

“We’ve had 600 fault reports so far and believe thousands of local households are affected.

“Engineers are working to restore services but the nature of the repairs, at a busy central junction, are very complex and may take some time, so please bear with us.

“We’re sorry for the unexpected disruption to services meantime.”