Forestry operations between Dunedin and Palmerston cut fibre cable two times in as many days this week, causing major internet outages for Spark customers in Oamaru and other parts of Otago.
The issues began at 3.50pm on Thursday when a fibre cable between Dunedin and Palmerston was cut, a Spark spokesman said.
Chorus technicians repaired the cut and restored services by 10.40pm.
Yesterday’s outage started at 9.47am, after another cut to fibre cable in the same area. All services were restored at 6pm.
"There are currently forestry operations being carried out in the area which have caused the damage to the fibre cables," the spokesman said.
Some Spark customers in the Otago region may have experienced a loss of broadband or mobile services, he said.
"We apologise for any inconvenience and thank our customers for being patient while we resolve this."
Several Oamaru businesses were unable to use eftpos machines yesterday, as up to 2000 people arrived in the North Otago town for the 64th New Zealand Motor Caravan Association national rally.
The Spark spokesman was unable to provide information on how many customers had been affected or what options were available for affected businesses.
However, he said Spark customers could activate "Connection Promise" through the MySpark app, offering them free data and national calling on their mobile phones during the outage.
