TECHNICIANS TRYING TO get eircom customers reconnected to their broadband services have been mostly thwarted by icy conditions today in areas of Wexford, Carlow and Wicklow.

The eircom press office says that, of today, there are still more than 4,000 reported faults with broadband and telephone services. The areas most affected are in Dublin city and county, and counties Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Laois and Meath. However, they add:

Field technicians in Wexford, Carlow and Wicklow are almost completely grounded today due to road conditions. There are a number of areas inaccessible to our technicians including parts of Meath, Kildare, Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow and Waterford as well as the areas previously identified: Brittas, Aughrim, Roundwood, Glendalough, Newtownmountkennedy, Blessington, Rathdrum.

More than 1,400 faults were reported to eircom yesterday alone and since Monday, the company has managed to repair 5,000 faults. The 4,000-plus who are still waiting to be reconnected have been warned that with forecasters predicting further snow and icy conditions through the weekend, they may have to wait to have their service fixed.

In good news, however, Bord Gais, Airtricity and the ESB have agreed to suspend disconnections during the current cold snap – and also through the Christmas season. The Irish Times reports that 125 householders had been disconnected in November.

The Energy Regulator announced yesterday that the reconnection fee for electricity and gas users would also be halved for the next 12 months from January.