Communication outage disrupts emergency services across Northern Iceland

A significant communication outage affected much of Northern Iceland today for nearly half an hour, leaving emergency services, hospitals, and police unable to contact one another. According to officials, the breakdown also caused intermittent issues with the Tetra communication system, rendering parts of the region completely disconnected.

The disruption began shortly after 1 PM and was traced back to a phone exchange in Akureyri, although the specific cause of the failure remains unclear. During the outage, voice and internet services were down in many areas, causing frustration for local businesses unable to complete transactions, and radio broadcasts were interrupted.

Emergency services were placed on alert, and a spokesperson indicated that if the situation had persisted longer, their coordination center would have been activated. Reports indicate that the communication failures spanned from Hólmavík to the fjords, with difficulties in assessing the duration of the Tetra system’s failure, which is traditionally considered reliable.

The director of the Akureyri Hospital expressed deep concern that someone in need might not have been able to reach help during the 17 minutes without communication. “We were quite frightened,” she stated, emphasizing reliance on these systems for patient safety.

In response to the incident, the company managing the Tetra system recognized the gravity of the situation and committed to a thorough investigation and improvements to prevent recurrence. Temporary repairs were initiated today, with further follow-ups anticipated for tomorrow.

The communication blackout also led to public inconvenience, with store queues growing as customers sought information on the situation’s duration.