Communication disruptions affect Akureyri and emergency services in North Iceland

Significant communication disruptions occurred today in North Iceland, particularly in Akureyri, affecting both mobile networks and internet access for nearly half an hour. This incident also impacted the Tetra system, which serves emergency and government services. As a result, a portion of the region experienced a total loss of communication during the outage.

The telecommunications company Míla attributed the outage to a malfunction at a phone exchange in Akureyri, but the specific cause has not yet been identified. During this period, both mobile and internet services were interrupted, and users reported instability in the Tetra communication system, generally regarded as more reliable than mobile phone networks.

Local businesses faced operational challenges as shopkeepers were unable to assist customers, and radio broadcast interruptions were noted, including a sudden loss of transmission during a live show on RÚV. Emergency services were on alert, and officials indicated that if the situation had continued for a more extended period, their coordination center would have been activated.

Reports of interference originated from as far as Hólmavík to the east. The Tetra outages, although infrequent, created challenges in assessing the duration of the disconnection. The situation prompted meetings among various responders, including the Akureyri Hospital and police forces in the region.

Communications teams are evaluating the overall impact of this incident, while Míla plans to release further information later in the day.