Concerns about the unintended consequences for local internet providers are growing as the Newcastle Municipality moves forward with ambitious plans to improve service delivery and revitalize aging town infrastructure.
Internet service providers were initially blamed for recent internet disruptions that affected Newcastle residents and businesses.
However, it seems that the municipality’s ongoing development projects are the real culprit.
At the end of October 2023, Evotel published a notice revealing that Newcastle’s municipal work was seriously impeding maintenance technicians by causing fiber lines to break while performing municipal duties.
The network integrity has suffered as a result of the frequent breaks. Although technicians are attempting to restore network stability, any quick fixes run the risk of future downtime, according to Evotel’s notice. In order to improve access points, the notice also described the installation of new infrastructure and network upgrades.
Evotel acknowledged the frustration of the neighborhood but emphasized its dedication to prioritizing uptime despite the difficulties the Newcastle Municipality’s water infrastructure upgrade project presented. There are several teams in the area, but we kindly ask the locals to be patient with us. Your uptime is still our top priority, Evotel stated in its notice, despite the difficulties it is currently experiencing in Newcastle.
On October 25, 2023, Newcastillian News went to the Newcastle Municipality and questioned it about its role in damaging the area’s internet lines as well as what steps it could take to prevent it from happening again.
The Newcastle Municipality was also questioned about why the aforementioned internet lines were being damaged and whether its teams had the necessary plans for where they ran.
The Newcastle Municipality has n’t responded, despite numerous attempts since then to get any kind of feedback.
However, Newcastle’s internet services are still having issues as November slowly comes to an end. As a fiber reseller in Newcastle, we are extremely concerned about the significant harm the municipality’s water department has done to the fiber infrastructure, according to Shanté Marais of Fliber Newcastle. Our clients have experienced up to 80 days of downtime in some areas.
Marais added that KC Pinnacle, Evotel’s maintenance company, with whom Fliber collaborates closely, has been diligently working nonstop to fix the damage.
Regrettably, it appears that the water department is outpacing the efforts to repair the fiber. Even after the fiber has been repaired, they keep coming back, causing our clients to suffer for a long time.
Marais also emphasized that while Fliber acknowledges the municipality’s efforts to improve Newcastle by building new water infrastructure, it urges them to do so without jeopardizing telecommunication infrastructure.
Finding cooperative solutions that guarantee neither service is negatively impacted during the upliftment process is essential in our interconnected world where internet access and water are fundamental necessities. We recognize the value of upgrading the community’s water pipes, but reliable internet services should n’t be sacrificed, said Marais.
What are your thoughts now that you have all of the aforementioned in mind? In the section below, let us know what you think.