Cobalt Construction severed cable in B.C.
A Whitehorse company was behind the latest severing of a fibre optic line that left Yukoners without Internet for seven hours on Monday.
A Whitehorse company was behind the latest severing of a fibre optic line that left Yukoners without Internet for seven hours on Monday.
Ruslan Tracz, the manager of communications for the Government of Canada, has confirmed that Cobalt Construction Inc. was responsible for the massive telecommunications failure that inconvenienced tens of thousands of northerners and visiting tourists.
“Cobalt Construction, PSPC’s contractor for the reconstruction of kilometres 742 to 750 of the Alaska Highway (between Muncho Lake and the Liard Hot Springs in British Columbia), severed a Northwestel fibre-optic line,” Tracz said in an email.
“PSPC had made the contractor aware of the location of the cable and the cable was marked at the time of the incident.”
According to the Government of Canada website, Cobalt had been awarded a $14-million contract for a realignment project that started in the spring, with an expected completion date in October.
Tracz said the cable was slashed while the contractor was clearing brush near the construction zone.
Service failed around 9:30 a.m. Monday. It was fully restored by 4 p.m.
Tracz said PSPC was pleased there was a same-day resolution.
The outage was felt throughout the Yukon, the Mackenzie Delta and Nunavut.
It affected the Internet, as well as some cell phone service and Northwestel cable TV.
Many local businesses, including banks, were impacted.
The Yukon Chamber of Commerce said the loss of services had a substantial negative impact on the business community.
Premier Darrell Pasloski said incidents like Monday’s “disrupt our daily lives.”
The Star made several attempts Wednesday and today to contact someone who would speak for Cobalt Construction.
No one has responded to the interview request.
Comments (6)
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Groucho d'North on Aug 11, 2016 at 7:40 am
Perhaps try to find cable with a highly visible outer jacket like "blaze orange" rather than the "hide anywhere black" currently in use If it has to lay out on the open ground. Make it easy to spot to prevent damages. This isn't rocket science yet the Telco(s) don't seem to think preventively in protecting their source of income, I wonder why that is?
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Mick on Aug 9, 2016 at 3:03 pm
@Hauke Kruse, There are plenty of places along the highway where there is no construction and you can see the cable just laying on the bank. It's been like that for years.
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Sourdough on Aug 7, 2016 at 12:54 pm
How can anyone lay the electronic lifeline to the North just on the ground, in a construction zone?
Just to save a few bucks?
How much would have a few poles cost to hang it up in the air so it would be visible?
No, it is much easier to charge the customer who lost already the repair cost too.
It's a win, win for Northwestel.
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Johnny on Aug 5, 2016 at 5:39 pm
Phone and power lines are above ground everywhere, so what's the issue if a fibre cable is on surface in an area where nobody lives? You think this way it can be seen and identified by a contractor.
Honestly I don't know how it has to be, above or below surface. I am just wondering how you want to find the issue on that cable when it gets damaged if it's buried and - not this time but many month of the year - covered under snow and stuck in frozen ground. Common sense for me.
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Hauke Kruse on Aug 5, 2016 at 5:36 pm
Hi Mick,
Northwestel's cables are typically buried. In some areas they are on aerial pole lines. At the request of PSPC, Northwestel placed a temporary cable to bypass the construction zone in April. The cable was placed in an area that was agreed to by both parties to be safely outside of the construction zone. The permanent cable that is buried in that area is inside the construction zone and would have been destroyed by the highway construction. When the highway construction is complete in October, Northwestel will return and bury another permanent cable in protective conduit. That area is an active highway reconstruction zone and that is why the cable is on the surface.
Hauke Kruse
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Mick on Aug 4, 2016 at 6:15 pm
Not once has NWTel disclosed their cable is not actually buried but in fact just laying in the scrub in the ditch.