An Australian bore operator single-handedly shut down major internet channels across New Zealand on Wednesday when he accidentally cut-through fibre cables.
The Sydney tradesman caused a mass outage for customers of New Zealand internet provider Vocus after severing the underground fibre lines about 2pm,WA Today reported.
Effects of the catastrophic mistake were felt across the pacific, with people in Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa also having their internet connections stunted.
Households, businesses, and even New Zealand’s parliament went without internet for up to 10 hours as the company grappled to get its wires re-connected.
A Sydney bore operator single highhandedly shut down major internet channels across New Zealand Wednesday after accidentally cutting through Vocus Communications’ fibre lines
In a tweet shared on Wednesday evening, about three hours after the breakdown, Vocas Communications informed its customers of the mishap.
‘Vocus customers – we’ve had confirmation of a major fibre cut in Sydney earlier today, impacting international connectivity to New Zealand and the USA. Teams are on site working to restore services,’ its post read.
General manager Taryn Hamilton told the National Business Review, ‘A directional bore operator in Sydney cut through a Vocus fibre conduit yesterday afternoon, cutting a number of fibre lines.’
The company, which owns internet providers Slingshot, Orcon and Flip, said service cuts mainly affected people’s access to social media sites.
Affects of the catastrophic mistake were felt across the pacific, with people in Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa also having their internet connections stunted
‘While major content providers such as Netflix and Google continued to operate as normal, web browsing to some sites (notably Facebook) would have been intermittent,’ Vocus’ Quentin Reade told the publication.
New cables were required in order to fix the issue, with systems eventually back in order by midnight.
‘Everything is now operating as normal,’ the company stated on its website.
For some, the mishap presented the perfect opportunity to poke fun at Australia and New Zealand’s long-running rivalry.
The company, which owns internet providers Slingshot, Orcon and Flip, said service cuts mainly affected people’s access to social media sites
‘Australia is so jealous of NZ’s fast internet they’re cutting our cables,’ someone wrote.
Another disgruntled internet user likened the Land Down Under to a domineering parent punishing a child by taking away its toy.
‘Just like teenagers, we in New Zealand think we’re all independent and grown up. But like a parent, Australia can take away our internet at any time for bad behaviour,’ they wrote.
New cables were required in order to fix the issue, with systems eventually back in order by midnight