Network outages are caused by several reasons - fibre cable cut, damaged cables or equipment at Central Offices, MDF rooms, end-users’ premises, etc.  However, majority of the outages are due to accidental fibre cable cuts by third-party contractors involved in the construction of transport infrastructure and housing projects.

When there is a network outage, some end-users’ internet services will be affected. The extent of the outage depends on the severity of the fibre cables damaged.  Internet Service Providers which operate the active network will detect the outage and notify NetLink Trust’s 24-hour Network Operations Centre (NOC) of the service outage. NetLink Trust will work closely with the Internet Service Providers to identify and repair the affected connections. NetLink Trust will despatch a cable restoration team onsite to diagnose the extent of the damage and determine the best means to repair the affected fibre cables.

NetLink Trust always endeavour to restore the affected network connections as expeditiously as possible.  However, the service restoration time depends on the following factors:

Extent of Damage

Number of fibre cables damaged.

Location and Accessibility

If the damaged fibre cables are situated in hard-to-reach places (e.g. under sheet pile), areas with safety hazards or where permission to access is required (e.g. private land, construction site, MDF room in commercial buildings, etc.), longer time will be needed.

Weather and Site Conditions

Adverse conditions such as heavy rain, flooding, loose soil or unsafe structures can pose significant safety risks to our workers, and hence extra precautionary measures have to be taken, slowing down the recovery process.

Coordination with Internet Service Providers

As NetLink Trust progressively restores the affected fibre cables, Internet Service Providers also need to carry out the necessary checks to validate the status of their affected services.

NetLink Trust provides periodic updates on the cable restoration progress to Internet Service Providers till the services are fully restored. Internet Service Providers typically post regular updates on their Facebook page. NetLink Trust also post regular updates on its website http://www.netlinktrust.com.

There are existing procedures to prevent fibre cable cut incidents. All third-party contractors performing earthworks (such as excavation, piling or drilling) must comply with Section 29(1) of the Telecommunications Act (Chapter 323), which requires them to notify NetLink Trust prior to commencement of any earthworks. Contractors must purchase plant maps from NetLink Trust and engage a licensed telecommunication cable detection worker (TCDW) to identify and locate the position of underground telecom cables. Contractors who fail to observe precautions and damage fibre cables may be fined up to S$1 million by the authorities and/or jailed for five years.