BT strike could affect internet and phone connections

[tim at pelican.org (Tim Franklin)]

> Internet and phone connections across Britain could go into meltdown
> as BT workers threaten their first national strike for 23 years...
> 
> ?Many business and residential phonelines could go out of action, and
> if broadband crashes then thousands and thousands of people will find
> their internet goes down.?
> 
> http://www.metro.co.uk/news/828021-threat-of-bt-strike-could-affect-internet-and-phone-connections

I get a lovely vision from that of a real old-style manual switchboard
operator, frantically plugging internet connections together with patch
cords as each SYN packet rings a little bell.

Clearly BT engineers being on strike will stop broken things from
being fixed[0].  I'm very unclear how it will cause things that are
working today to suddenly "go into meltdown"...

Regards,
Tim.

[0] As a residential customer, it's arguable how much of a change this is.