Broadband supply cable broken, when am I being going to have a new cable installed and connected?

[Grahamjulie]

A new underground cable for my broadband is required, I have no connection, my wife is receiving cancer treatment, we cannot connect to her specialist or contact them by landline, this is an emergency and been going on for over a week. Is virgin superfast fibre optic the answer?

[Daniel0210]

@Grahamjulie 

What have Sky said when you initially reported to them and on any subsequent follow up calls?

[Grahamjulie]

We reported it to Sky  1/5/22. A BT OPENREACH employee visited 3/5/22. He investigated and showed me the underground cable had snapped where it entered the box in the pavement, a new cable is required, he would report it. We have heard nothing since.

[Daniel0210]

@Grahamjulie 

Sky can only tell you what Openreach tell them and OR are not known for being good at this. It will depend on what materials they need, permission for any digging required and availability of a work crew. 
Although it doesn't help you short term see this link re auto compensation for when there is a total loss of Sky Broadband or Sky Talk.
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/auto-compensation

If you have a total loss of service and it isn’t fixed after two full working days from when you first report the fault to Sky, you will become eligible for it (once it’s fixed).

[cookiemonsteruk]

@Grahamjulie 

As you mentioned its an underground cable it can take local authority 4 weeks to grant planning permission if openreach need to dig up the cable

[jamesn123]

@Grahamjulie 

I would recommend using mobile hot spots for the time being. As mentioned by @cookiemonsteruk it could take a long time for Openreach to be granted permission to initiate a dig to fix the cable. 

[Grahamjulie]

At the moment I am struggling to get a decent signal on my mobile to post anything. The openreach worker was very conscientious and suggested Sky would loan me a signal booster for my phone so I would get a chance of connection but I cannot contact Sky to discuss this. At least 4 weeks will be intolerable, I need the connection for my wife's treatments which are going very well at the minute. Thank you for your help so far.

[jamesn123]

Hi @Grahamjulie 

AFAIK Sky would not be able to provide that kind of thing as they do not have the hardware. 

[cookiemonsteruk]

@Grahamjulie 

Per ofcom it is a regulatory obligation for comms providers to maintain uninterrupted services to emergency services

" critically important function of the telephone network is to allow people to contact the emergency services. For this reason, there is a regulatory obligation on communications providers (providers) in General Condition A3 to take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations for their customers."

,

Also does your local authority etc supply panic buttons  etc for such situations

[Daniel0210]

@Grahamjulie 

I agree with @jamesn123 Sky do not have the capability to boost your mobile signal.

[TechmanagerMal]

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@Grahamjulie wrote:

At the moment I am struggling to get a decent signal on my mobile to post anything. The openreach worker was very conscientious and suggested Sky would loan me a signal booster for my phone so I would get a chance of connection but I cannot contact Sky to discuss this. At least 4 weeks will be intolerable, I need the connection for my wife's treatments which are going very well at the minute. Thank you for your help so far.

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• It may be that this team can provide help or advice - https://www.sky.com/help/home/accessibility-information/accessibility-info-policies/vulnerable-custo...

[Grahamjulie]

So basically it's jump in the car or find a cafe that's got a decent signal. It's not Skys fault to be fair, I can trace it back to some water workers a few months ago, that's the only excavations around that location for years. In the meantime I'm bricking it we don't miss any NHS notifications or appointments. Thankyou all very much for your help so far, much appreciated.👍🏻

[Daniel0210]

@Grahamjulie 

You've got nothing to lose by contacting the Accessibility Team as suggested by @TechmanagerMal but they won't be able to hurry the repairs along. 

[TimmyBGood · Accepted solution]

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@Grahamjulie wrote:

 Is virgin superfast fibre optic the answer?

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Only if they already have their private network distribution serving your area.  Incidentally most Virgin connectivity is over coaxial cable, not fibre-optic.

[TimmyBGood]

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@Grahamjulie wrote:

The openreach worker was very conscientious and suggested Sky would loan me a signal booster for my phone so I would get a chance of connection but I cannot contact Sky to discuss this. 

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Unfortunately such devices typically function by attaching a cellular picocell or femtocell onto a high-speed broadband connection, so absolutely cannot act as a replacement for an internet connection.