Thursday 14 August 2025
 13.6°C   S Light Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Letters / Not a good week for cables

Why did the Orca eat the subsea cable?  Because they were told they needed more fibre in their diet.

Not a good week for cables; first the wind farm found problems in theirs and then Shetland was cut off from the outside world. Unless you had a landline or carrier pigeons.

It makes you realise how reliant on modern technology we have become, even peerie ol’ Shetland.  It has been reported that ‘shipping vessels’ were likely to blame. Were they Russian ‘shipping vessels’ by any chance?

Would an independent Scotland have its own subsea cables or satellite network? Could Shetland Charitable Trust or another local organisation invest in satellite resilience for Shetland? We are going to have a spaceport in Unst soon, so I’m sure they could arrange a discount.

The Internet as we know it today was first developed by the US military in the 1960s to provide resilience in the event of a nuclear war. That threat has again been prominent recently.

What plans are there for the survival of Shetland in the event of Armageddon? (Or hungry Orca)

Ian Simmins
Ollaberry

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Categories

Sign up
for our Newsletters

Stay in the loop with newsletters tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for daily updates, weekly highlights, or updates on jobs or property, you can choose exactly what you want to receive.

Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.