Monday, November 11, 2013

Internet, Phone Restored On The San Juan Islands

In the end of a large scale, accidental experiment of what happens when you cut off Internet and phone to the modern world, residents of Washington's San Juan Islands are finally getting reconnected to the world, according to telecom provider CenturyLink. A ruptured cable last Tuesday cut off all communications to the islands. The cut had shut down all telephone service, banks (no access to electronic banking networks), and hobbled businesses (no access to credit card processing), and forcing users to the public library, one of the few places with alternative Internet connectivity. According to CenturyLink over the weekend, it has now restored 911 emergency service via landline, and restored approximately 60 percent of its pre-break bandwidth for DSL Internet on the island thanks to electric utility cooperative OPALCO, which is an alternative provider of Internet to the islands. Photo of the ferry to San Juan Island courtesy Rose Braverman, via Flickr.