GO fixed telephony repairs were concluded this morning after a huge fault earlier in the week by a third-party contractor.

On Tuesday at around 2pm, an unrelated third-party contractor cut through three GO underground cables in Żejtun, causing extensive damage to the network and leaving over 5,000 customers across Żejtun, Żurrieq, Għaxaq, Mqabba, Qrendi, Safi, Kirkop and the surrounding areas disconnected from broadband, television, fixed telephony and in some areas, even mobile.

GO’s chief service operations officer, Ayrton Caruana said such incidents were complicated from a technical perspective because the company first had to assess the damage, then, determine what services are impacted and where, and devise a plan of action to restore services in the most efficient and responsible manner.

“While our broadband, television and mobile services were fully restored by the early hours of the morning on Wednesday, works on our infrastructure carrying fixed telephony continued, with services gradually being restored until completion this morning (Thursday).

“Given the complexity of the tasks involved, the protection of the health and safety of our employees as well as the adverse conditions that our people have to work in during such accidents there are no shortcuts we can take,” Caruana said.

The company said in a statement that such incidents not only come at a huge cost to the company but also to all affected customers.

GO said it is evaluating how best to protect and defend its rights and its network within a complex context where a number of stakeholders are involved.