Haywards Heath YouTuber unable to make videos after broadband knocked out for a week following Storm Eunice

Simon Price, of Lexington Drive, said his fibreoptic broadband was knocked out at Friday lunchtime (February 18) during the severe weather.

Simon, 47, runs a high-end audio and Hi-Fi stereo review channel called 13th Note HiFi Reviews, but said he has not been able to create any new content for a week.

What is 13th Note HiFi Reviews? Click here to find out.

“I rely on having the internet,” said Simon, adding that he needs to plug his audio equipment into a functioning router.

“The router only works when there is a local area network (LAN) and that local area network only happens when there’s a broadband connection going through the router,” he said.

“You can’t network off a router that doesn’t have a broadband connection,” he added.

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Simon explained that he does audio calibrations with his Hi-Fi gear, which requires him to connect his laptops to a microphone, and all of this relies on connecting everything to LAN port.

He said he still has a mobile internet connection but this is not sufficient for his work.

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“Where I live, we’re in a slight valley, so the mobile signal for broadband is terribly unreliable,” he said.

“I’m trying to run my Macbooks and laptops and things off the signal of a hotspot on an iPhone, where you turn the iPhone into a wireless computer, but it won’t enable me to run all the other equipment I need in order to do my reviews,” Simon added.

Simon said he tries to put his content out on a regular schedule so he does not lose followers or interest.

He went on say that he has been typing his phone number into the online BT broadband check list, and that the estimated date and time for the issue to be fixed keeps being pushed back.

He said he has also phoned BT several times and said they had told him that more than 300 people had been affected.

Simon has spoken to neighbours too who have told him their internet is also down.

He said he is not just concerned for his own work, but fears that others will not be able to do their jobs properly if they need to work from home.

Simon also feels that in the modern world people’s broadband being down is of ‘similar seriousness’ to people being without power.

He said he would like the problem fixed quickly.

He added that, ideally, he would also like more ‘proactive’ communication from BT about the nature of the problem, whether by phone calls, texts or a representative visiting the area.

“If it’s one of those massive 25,000 volt gantry power lines that is down for two miles, then you’d know you’re not getting any broadband for weeks, so you’ve got to go out and buy a router with a SIM card in it,” he said.

“That’s the sort of information that they should be telling people so that people can plan,” he added.

A BT spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry for the delay in fixing Mr Price’s broadband service.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep him connected by sending a 4G Mi-Fi device until the fault can be fixed.

“We’re working with our network partners to restore his broadband as a matter of urgency.

“We’ve been in touch with Mr Price to apologise and we’re keeping him fully updated on progress.”

BT also said Simon will be compensated as per the Ofcom Automatic Compensation Scheme for the delay in resolving his issue.

They advised any BT customer with broadband enquiries to get in touch and said they would do everything they could to help.

An Openreach spokesperson said: “We are still in the process of repairing our network following damage caused by the recent storms.

“It’s a huge job and our teams have been working around the clock to get everyone back online.

“This the cause of this particular fault is a power outage affecting 368 customers on a cabinet on the Haywards Heath exchange.

“The power company is working to resolve the outage and its work is complete, we will be able to repair the cabinet.

“If everything goes to schedule, our target fix time is 19:00 tomorrow.

“We’d like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding and remind everyone of the importance of reporting faults to their provider as quickly as possible; we will then be informed.

“More information about the damage to our network is here.