Chaos caused by North Sea cable break shows why we must act to stop Scottish islands being cut off
The problems caused by a broken undersea cable in Orkney and Shetland are a warning for the UK, particularly amid reports of Russian sabotage operations in the Baltic
In the Northern Isles, you are never so aware of the things you rely upon as when they are no longer there. That, I suspect, has been the rueful thought of many islanders in recent days after an undersea cable breakage last weekend.
Whether it was the switchboard at the Balfour hospital in Kirkwall being knocked out, undertakers unable to operate, island airports facing delays, shops unable to process card payments or simply their internet or mobile connections at home, people have had a sharp reminder of how reliant we have become on these connections for our everyday needs.
We cannot wind back the clock on our reliance on the internet. Now is the time for our governments to take notice and take action so that Scottish islands cannot be so easily cut off in future.
Risk of a catastrophe
Technological advances bring all sorts of improvements of efficiency, accessibility and opportunity that were not there before in the more ‘far-flung’ islands of Scotland just as much as anywhere else (who counts as far-flung being a matter of perspective of course). It is sometimes worth taking a look around, however, and recognising the risks of our communities relying too much on too few potential points of failure.
After all, in some ways you could say that last week’s cable cut was the ‘best-case’ scenario for disruption. Cable breakages in the summer are better than cable breakages in the winter, when storms and cold weather can turn a ‘nuisance’ into a ‘catastrophe’. One constituent contacted me after the outage saying that her only way to get a signal and communicate with anyone was to stand outside her local community hall. That is irritating in the summer but far more problematic in the colder months.
Even in these warmer months, however, there are serious challenges. One islander wrote to me this week because her father, who recently had a stroke, has had no way to contact her should he have a fall, due to the connectivity disruption. Another has had to rely on the help of neighbours to submit a job application and prepare for an interview.
Building up our defences
What has come through in my inbox time and again from islanders is the poor communication of network providers and the inconsistency of their support for customers – a tale as familiar in Edinburgh as it is in Lerwick. Every part of the country should have the same expectation of reliable, well-reinforced communications (and energy) links – and it is in every part of this country’s interest to build up these defences.
After all, Britain may be a larger island than those in Orkney or Shetland but it is an island all the same. Many of the same risks to connectivity that apply north of the Pentland Firth apply to the UK as a whole – with far wider potential consequences.
All indications are that this latest cable cut was accidental, but after reports of Russia targeting undersea cables in the Baltic, we cannot be complacent about our own infrastructure.
We have all grown to rely upon instant connections for so much of our economy and our society. We may not be prepared for what happens when those connections can no longer be taken for granted.
Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland
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