Vantaa residents criticize fibre-optic works

Residents in Rekola, a residential area in Vantaa, say poor communication and unfinished work have disrupted fibre-optic cable construction. Yle reports that Valoo, the operator behind the work, says the asphalt laid over trenches is temporary and will be finished later.

Nina Lampinen found a brief handwritten notice in her mailbox just as workers were digging up her street. She said she was concerned the next day about whether she could drive out of her property to take her husband to hospital for cancer treatment.

Posts in a local Facebook group describe other problems, including one resident having to dig a ditch themselves and another losing an existing internet connection. Residents have also complained that they could not reach those responsible for the construction and that the work appeared unfinished.

Yle has reported problems with rapid fibre-optic construction in Pori, Tornio, Joensuu and Kuopio over the past year. Fibre networks and the number of companies building them have grown quickly across Finland.

Valoo operates in about 60 Finnish cities. Its cables in Rekola are being installed by subcontractors working for the company’s contractor, according to Valoo’s commercial director, Klaus Varis.

Varis said there had been relatively few incidents in Rekola and that problems were small in number compared with the work completed as planned. He said two safety notices outlining plans and schedules had been distributed to every home in the area. Lampinen said she had not received one. Varis also said construction-site boards displayed the contractors’ contact details.

Varis described the handwritten note as an unconventional but inventive way to communicate. He said temporary asphalt is laid after trenches are covered, and that the company receives feedback about it.

Tags: Finland, Vantaa, fibre optics