– This is not sustainable in 2024, says Hoyanger Mayor, Peter Sortland.
More than 800 people were left without coverage in the municipalities of Hoyanger and Göllen after a submarine cable was cut in Sognefjord on New Year's Eve.
In addition, there is also mobile phone coverage on parts of the E39, the main road between Bergen and Ålesund.
As a result, five base stations are out of service.
More than 800 people in Hoyanger and Gulen were affected by the accident. The Lavik-Oppedal ferry connection is also without coverage.
Photo: Screenshot/Telenor
This especially happens to many elderly people and others who depend on them Security alarms To inform the municipality if they need assistance.
Because without coverage they are not allowed to notify. According to the municipality, this applies to nine people.
– We take this seriously, says Mayor Sortland.
In Gulen, there are 12 people without a working alarm.
NRK has been contacted by residents concerned about safety. Some talk about less serious incidents, but where help was needed.
– Now Telenor has to get off the horse and solve this problem, says Hoyanger Mayor Peter Sortland.
Photo: Arne Stubhaug/NRK
Since there was no cell phone coverage, no one was able to contact others.
The municipality is now on high alert, especially in the health field.
-Does this mean that people who do not have effective security alarms are being adequately detained?
– Yes, increased preparedness means that additional home help is on call and has more visitors.
The city's mayor says the emergency network must work.
Frode Akse had to turn away several customers because the pumps and electric car charger were not working.
Photo: Odmund Haugen/No
Drivers who stopped at the Lavik Machine Center to refuel from tanks here, or to charge their vehicles, had to continue driving.
Here, not a drop has come out of the tank since New Year's Eve.
– It has created a number of challenges, says day manager Frode Akse, who says they have lost a significant amount of money because of this.
Although such incidents happen from time to time, they should not happen in our time, he says.
He refuses to sabotage
Björn Amundsen, Telenor's coverage manager, says he understands the frustration of those affected, but once things go wrong with submarine cables, it takes a long time to reinstall them.
The cable has a plug several hundred meters on the sea floor.
The submarine cable runs from land to Sognefjord. The cable runs about 15 meters from the shore, but the other end of the cable has not yet been found, it is located several hundred meters deep and is not particularly easy to find.
Photo: Telenor
– It will be “very expensive” and it will take several months to repair the 28-kilometre-long submarine cable, says Amundsen.
Telenor is working on another solution that could provide residents with coverage during the day on Wednesday. The affected base stations will be reconnected.
This solution can be permanent if it works well enough.
Therefore, the future of the submarine cable has not yet been determined.
Corrosion is likely the cause of the submarine cable break. Telenor denies that there is talk of sabotage. Such submarine cables shouldn't actually break, but it happens about four times a year, Amundsen says.
Submarine cables aren't supposed to break, but it happens about four times a year, says Björn Amundsen, coverage manager at Telenor.
Photo: Telenor
The submarine cable was running about 15 meters from shore.
according to Single This happened in Kyrkjebø in Høyanger, but Telenor will not comment on this for security reasons.
Increase readiness
– So far we have not witnessed any unfortunate incidents, but we are monitoring closely, says municipal director Irene Søreid in Gülen.
More than 400 people over the age of 18 have been affected. They are distributed among 209 families.
In addition, approximately 160 other buildings such as farms and houses were damaged.
Gulen also increased preparedness and issued information to residents on how to access emergency services.
12 people did not have an effective security alarm.
Cables can be either in the air, on land or at sea. The problem with submarine cables is that once things go wrong, it takes a long time to correct the fault, says Telenor's Amundsen.
Photo: Telenor
Heimetenesta has its own preparedness for these situations, and there is also an emergency network they can use, Soreide says.
Eivindvik School, Kindergarten and Brekke School are completely without internet and mobile phone coverage.
We hope that coverage will soon return to the entire municipality.
We notice that it is weak. We are reminded that such cables can have such major consequences, Soreid says.
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