Fibre Break: Manchester to London

Expected resolution: 24 May 2019, 19:00 UTC
Return to issues
Issue status: Resolved Date:

25 May 2019
00:16 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Our supplier has confirmed that the fibres have all been spliced now and the two joins are now secured back in the ground and that a permanent repair will be completed in due course via their normal planned works process.

Our network links have been stable since the previous update and are now fully back in service, and this incident is now closed.

Expected resolution time updated: 24 May 2019, 19:00 UTC

Issue status: Monitoring Date:

24 May 2019
16:24 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Our fibres both look to be back up now.

We've not had the all-clear from the supplier yet though so we're continuing to monitor and consider these at-risk for the time being.

Issue status: Investigating Date:

24 May 2019
15:40 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Our supplier informs us that 3 tubes have been spliced at the existing joint, splicing work due to commence at temporary joint in the next 15 minutes.

Issue status: Investigating Date:

24 May 2019
14:02 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Preparation work for splicing is still ongoing. Our supplier expects splicing to commence within the next hour.

Issue status: Investigating Date:

24 May 2019
11:53 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Engineers are pulling in new 1km strap cable, splice prepping will commence at both ends once this has been completed.

Issue status: Investigating Date:

24 May 2019
10:22 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Spare cable is now on site, plan is to install a temporary 1Km strap to bypass the damaged cable. Damage has been caused by a traffic sign post installation. Traffic management permission has been granted and is currently being implemented, repair work will start shortly.

Issue status: Investigating Date:

24 May 2019
09:33 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Updates from our supplier overnight:

Our supplier has advised that they have accessed their chamber and found it to be silted up, a civils team at the location was able to clear out the chamber, so that the fibre could be inspected and a repair plan formulated.

There was concerns for the safety of the engineers at the location, as the road is unlit and there is fast moving traffic passing by and Traffic Management will be required for the repair and this could not be authorised by the local authority until the morning.

After the removal of silt from their chamber and ducting the splicing team have the joint out of the ground and testing has identified an issue 380 metres from the chamber and walking the distance has identified an area where the soil appears to have been disturbed.

Splicing engineers are progressing with a temporary fix, with a requirement of a full fix to be completed under change control at a later date. The engineers are at the location standing by to pull in the replacement fibre and commence splicing.

Traffic management equipment is on site ready to be deployed, once the permit from the local council has been granted.

Issue status: Investigating Date:

24 May 2019
00:05 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Fibre engineers have located the pit with the damaged fibre, but it is in a carriageway and there are safety concerns about live traffic.

They are assessing the situation to see if it is safe to proceed or whether traffic management is required.

Issue status: Investigating Date:

24 May 2019
00:03 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Our suppliers engineers have tested the fibre in both directions and results have detected a fibre break approx. 16km from Birmingham.

Fibre engineers and splicing team have been mobilised and arrived at the approximate location and are working to pin point an exact location of the break so that they can begin repairs.

Issue status: Investigating Date:

23 May 2019
16:10 UTC

Posted by:

Shane Mc Cormack

Our supplier have confirmed a fibre break between Evesham and Cheddleton and have engineers en route to the location to troubleshoot further.

Traffic from London continues to flow via York and Leeds for the time being.

Transit and peering links within Manchester are unaffected.

Expected resolution time updated: We are currently investigating.

Issue status: Monitoring Date:

23 May 2019
13:43 UTC

Posted by:

Mike Poland

We've been alerted to a fibre break on one of our fibre paths between Manchester and London and this is being investigated by our supplier. Traffic is routing via alternative paths from London and we will continue to monitor.

We'll post updates here as and when we get them.

If you're experiencing any problems with your services at Bytemark that you think might be related, please do get in touch.

Return to issues

Issue still not addressed? Please contact support.