MAKING CONTACT: A Starlink satellite receiver set up for public use outside the Rose Room at the Lawson Field Theatre has attracted a steady stream of people wanting to get in touch with family and friends outside Gisborne. Picture by Paul Rickard
MAKING CONTACT: A Starlink satellite receiver set up for public use outside the Rose Room at the Lawson Field Theatre has attracted a steady stream of people wanting to get in touch with family and friends outside Gisborne. Picture by Paul Rickard
Chorus was today attempting to restore fibre telecommunications from the north.
“Gisborne’s telecommunications are normally enabled by two separate fibre cables to provide resilience,” a spokesman said.
“Unfortunately, both of the routes have suffered major cuts triggered by landslides. Both routes (north and south of Gisborne) were surveyed yesterday. Thenorth route has been identified as the most feasible option to implement a temporary overlay.
“There are at least four known breaks on this route, with one of them extremely challenging as it is in a deep gorge where the road is completely destroyed and will require more evaluation once on ground. We have resources at both ends of the route to start work at the same time. This includes two helicopters, separate crews of technicians to work on the two cuts, and enough fibre to bridge the gaps created by the landslides.
“We believe that we should be able to complete the overlay on the first two cuts today but until we get the update from the field on the most challenging one, we do not have an ETA.”
