Repairman’s vacation keeps Swedish town off the internet

The roughly 160 residents of Ammarnäs in Sweden’s far north have been without internet services since before Christmas Eve.

And they won’t likely be able to get back online until January 11th when the town’s only repairman returns from vacation.

The disruption in internet service has frustrated many local tourist operators, who, along with reindeer herders, represent the lifeblood of the area economy.

“Several hunters from abroad have called and asked why they can’t book spots in Ammarnäs,” tour operator Anne Kathrine Ödegård told the Västerbottens-Kuriren newspaper.

She and several other business owners have both their telephone and booking systems connected to the internet and are concerned about not being able to maintain contact with their clients.

Municipal officials said on Monday that they have entered into negotiations with Telia in order to connect the town to the telecom operator’s network.

Ammarnäs town head Göran Wikström promised on Monday that residents would be connected to the internet “as soon as practically possible”.