A regional outage of Spectrum internet service continues to plague customers across parts of Montana.
We have received unconfirmed reports that the outage is due to a damaged fiber-optic cable, but Spectrum has not released any information about the outage, other than to confirm there is an “issue” and that technicians are working to get things running again.
We are continuing to try to get information from Spectrum about the outage, and also talk with businesses in Great Falls that are affected.
We do not yet know if customers will be credited on their bills for the service outage.
We will update you if we get more details.
(UPDATE, 11:14 a.m.) Spectrum spokesman Bret Picciolo provided the following information to KRTV:
“Damage to a third-party carrier’s fiber-optic network is disrupting services for Spectrum customers in the area. That carrier has been engaged and is working to repair the damage and restore service as quickly as possible.
The damage occurred last night but crews were unable to access the site until this morning for safety reasons. Access to the site is controlled by the power company and crews were unable to access the damage until the power company deemed the area safe to enter.
Services are impacted in the Great Falls, Havre, Malta, Chinook and Harlem areas.
Regarding credits: We will work individually with customers who were impacted.”
NorthWestern Energy spokesman Butch Larcombe sent the following message to KRTV:
The outage is result of damaged communications line and NorthWestern Energy has been working with the communications company to facilitate repairs since last night.
Picciolo sent the following message on Friday afternoon:
The damage occurred on aerial line over a ravine. Due to geographic challenges in the area the damage occurred, technicians are currently working to put a temporary solution in place in order to restore service as quickly as possible.
We will update you if we get more information.
(THURSDAY, 9:06 p.m.) An internet outage is affecting thousands of Spectrum customers in and around Great Falls and beyond.
The outage was reported just after 7 p.m. There is no word yet on the cause of the outage, nor how long it will take to restore service.
The Spectrum website confirms the outage in the Great Falls area with the following message: “There’s an issue in your area that might be impacting your internet service. Our technicians are working hard to get things running again.”
We will update you if we get any details.
The website DownDetector shows a large portion of Montana affected.
There is no word yet on the cause of the outage, nor how long it will take to restore service.
Posted by KRTV Great Falls on Thursday, October 4, 2018
