With no working phone line, there are fears an 87-year-old woman has been left without a lifeline. The Tandon family are among an estimated 43 households affected by the fault, which has occurred in a large cable. Mrs Tandon and her husband Dev both work fulltime, and are "worried senseless" leaving the elderly woman alone and unprotected during the day. A Chorus spokesman apologised to the family and said Spark should have told the company about the medical circumstances sooner. The family are Spark customers, but the fault exists on Chorus' copper network.

Source: New Zealand Herald June 29, 2016 00:43 UTC