Openreach is busy preparing for extreme winter weather and has some useful advice for homes and businesses in West Lothian.
The company is warning there could be disruption if there’s a repeat of the 2021/22 storm season.
Since then, Openreach has been reviewing its approach to extreme weather, making sure its 3000 Scottish engineers have the best possible specialist winter kit; looking at whether the network can be re-routed in areas that have proved particularly vulnerable to storms in recent years; and reviewing how information on any disruption is shared with communities.
The company is also offering some useful tips for phone and broadband users:
Tell your provider if you’re vulnerable so you’ll be prioritised, wherever possible, during any repair work; prepare for an outage by making sure your mobile phone and any spare battery packs are fully charged if you know extreme weather is approaching; report damage by calling 0800 023 2023; consider upgrading to Full Fibre.
If phone and broadband services are disrupted, you can find out the latest information we have at openreach.com.
Jenni Macfarlane, service delivery director for Openreach in Scotland, said: “It’s impossible to predict exactly what kind of winter is ahead of us, but we’re doing everything we can to prepare for it.
“The most important thing to us is keeping our engineers and the public safe. Our people are out in all conditions and in remote and rural areas, whether they’re fixing and maintaining the network or building new full fibre connections.
“I’d urge anyone who’s vulnerable to let their broadband company know, so they can be prioritised during repairs. It’s not always possible due to the way the network works, but we’ll do our best.”
Don't miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here
