The UK’s largest phone and broadband network has provided some useful winter advice for Lanarkshire homes and businesses.
Openreach is warning there could be disruption if there is a repeat of the 2021/22 storm season, which saw several named storms hit Scotland, including three in one week in February.
Since then, the company 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 firm is also offering some useful tips for phone and broadband users.
Tell your provider if you’re vulnerable: Let your phone or broadband provider - the company you pay your bill to - know if you or a family member is vulnerable (Ofcom publishes useful guidance on this], so you’ll be prioritised, wherever possible, during any repair work.
Prepare for an outage: Make sure your mobile phone and any spare battery packs are fully charged if you know extreme weather is approaching. It could provide you with vital access to help, online services and contact with friends and family.
Report damage: Outages can happen because trees or branches hit cables and equipment. You can help Openreach fix things faster by reporting this kind of issue directly to them online or by calling 0800 023 2023. Use a What3Words location to help them pinpoint the damage.
Check your power: Openreach has back-up plans in the event of local power cuts to keep its network running, but you might find it hard to connect if your own power is disrupted.
Consider upgrading to full fibre: The company's full fibre broadband network now reaches more than 32,000 North Lanarkshire homes and businesses. As well as being faster, more reliable and future-proof, it’s also less affected by things like flooding. Check now to find out if you can upgrade.
More information: If phone and broadband services are disrupted, you can find out the latest information Openreach has here. Always report a fault to your service provider so the company know there’s a problem.
Jenni Macfarlane, service delivery director for Openreach in Scotland, told Lanarkshire Live : “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 very remote and rural areas, whether they’re fixing and maintaining the network or building new full fibre connections.
“Last winter, our Scottish network was repeatedly lashed by storms like Arwen, Barra, Corrie and Malik. In just 24 hours in February, Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin caused thousands of damage reports to flood in and more than 100 poles in Scotland needed to be replaced as a result, among 750 across the UK.
“It presented us with an opportunity to review and make changes to our approach and I’m confident we’re in a better place heading into this winter.
"We’re more co-ordinated across our business and have even closer working relationships with organisations like the power companies and the Met Office.
“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 headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
