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An internet outage in Oldham last week left around 2,000 broadband connections without access. The incident had a significant impact on businesses, especially those that rely on wired internet connections for their payment systems. Affected businesses were forced to accept cash payments only until the issue was resolved on Tuesday. However, many have criticized their internet providers for a lack of communication during the outage.

Openreach, the company responsible for managing the network, has issued an apology to those affected. They explained that the problem occurred due to damage to the cables caused by third-party contractors. Notable establishments including Subway, Oxfam, Cash Converters, the Town Hall Tavern, Riga Supermarket, Oldham Bargains, and more experienced the outage.

Richard Simpson, a business owner at Simpsons of Oldham, expressed frustration over the incident. The jeweler’s family business, which has been a BT customer for 40 years, was unable to process card payments or phone calls for four days. Simpson highlighted the inconvenience of relying on Cloud Voice for phone services, as losing internet access means losing the entire business operation.

Some affected businesses, such as the Town Hall Tavern, were able to accept card payments using their payment systems connected to mobile data networks. However, queues formed outside cash machines as other businesses resorted to cash-only transactions. Local residents also shared their frustration, with some experiencing difficulties in working from home and keeping in touch with international contacts.

Openreach stated that their engineers worked diligently to repair the damaged cables and restore services. They acknowledged the complexity of the repair work and thanked the local community for their patience and understanding.

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