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Volunteers at the Ebone/KPNQwest European offices have managed to keep the network open.

The Belgium-based operation is still running, long after the deadline for it to be switched off passed.

Voluntary staff barricaded themselves inside the Belgian operations centre eight days ago, but had warned that the network would be shut down if a deal was not struck by 4.00pm on Friday.

Ebone/KPNQwest administrators demanded that creditors either pay their bills or face the closure of the network, but it was kept running while the volunteers manned it.

However, on Friday it looked as if some had lost interest and were thinking of giving up.

Many Ebone/KPNQwest customers are believed to have transferred to other suppliers in case the network shuts down, although many smaller customers remain dependent on the network.