Fibre network outage affecting parts of Singapore resolved: NetLink

FIBRE services that were disrupted in certain parts of Singapore on Thursday have been restored, NetLink Trust said on Friday.

"NetLink Trust confirms that the network outage affecting the vicinity around Bukit Merah, Outram, Tanjong Pagar and Tiong Bahru was resolved at 12.40am on June 12, 2015,'' said the fibre network operator.

NetLink, which provides fibre infrastructure to Internet service providers (ISPs) Singtel, StarHub, M1 and MyRepublic, said the network outage on Thursday was due to damage to the fibre infrastructure caused by contractors who are involved in the Thomson-East Coast MRT line construction.

"NetLink Trust worked closely with all relevant parties to ensure that the service is restored at the affected areas as soon as possible,'' it said, adding that individuals in the affected area can call their respective ISPs should there be further enquiries.

Ng Yong Hwee, chief executive officer of NetLink Trust, said: "We had deployed all available resources to ensure prompt and speedy restoration works. We would like to thank the affected users for their understanding and patience in this matter."

M1, SingTel and StarHub resorted to Facebook postings to keep customers updated. It was only in the wee hours of Friday morning that they announced fibre services were fully restored.

On Thursday, customers of the ISPs in and around Bukit Merah, Outram, Tanjong Pagar, Tiong Bahru, Orchard and Bukit Panjang were affected by an Internet outage. NetLink Trust said the disruption "was caused by Land Transport Authority (LTA) contractors who are involved in the MRT construction".

This was confirmed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) which issued a statement on its Facebook page saying: "At about 10.40am today, our contractor at the Thomson-East Coast Line's Great World station worksite damaged a section of NetLink Trust's underground fibre optic cables while carrying out piling works. We will work with all relevant parties to investigate the incident." It also "apologises to all fibre subscribers affected by this incident".

In its Facebook post, the Infocomm Development Authority said it was monitoring the situation so as to ensure affected services are restored quickly.