Cogeco customers in the areas lost service Saturday morning
Cogeco customers in Hamilton, Niagara and surrounding areas lost internet Saturday morning, after someone climbed a tree to cut three fibre optic cables, the telecoms company says.
Around 3 a.m. Saturday, three of the company’s fibre optic cables were cut in an act of “vandalism,” affecting internet, home phone and TV services, Cogeco spokesperson Kristen Curry said in an email.
Crews started working to return service this morning, with some households already back online, Curry said.
“Services are restored for customers in the Niagara Region, and will continue to return gradually for customers in the Hamilton region, with a full estimated resolution time for late afternoon,” she said.
The work involves splicing together the severed strands of fibre in the cables, Curry said.
“In this case, between the damaged cables there are 182 strands of fibre,” she wrote. “The process takes some time [roughly 2 minutes per fibre], so we’ve brought in three crews to help speed up the process.”
Those still without home phone service will be unable to call 911, Curry said, so Cogeco recommends customers still affected have a cell phone on hand for emergencies.
