Several Washington CenturyLink customers say they’ve been without internet or phone service for weeks or even months. KIRO 7 has received reports of outages across the Puget Sound, including in Lakewood, Maple Valley, and Renton.
“It’s been terribly difficult,” said Joseph Pena, who lives in Lakewood with his wife Connie.
Connie had tongue cancer and is unable to speak. She relies on her wireless internet to stay up-to-date with loved ones, and fill out medical forms online. She kept in touch with her doctors on her landline phone. Both services have been offline since late September.
“When she came home, and that wasn’t here, she started crying,” Joseph said. “That breaks my heart.”
In Maple Valley, Michael Upton has been without wireless internet since August.
“I rely on Wi-Fi for some of my hearing devices so I could hear,” Upton said. “Those are gone also.”
Both Upton and Joseph say they’ve been unable to get clear answers from company representatives about when the problems will be solved.
“I thought it would be a couple of days,” Upton said.
CenturyLink officials told KIRO 7 that many of the outages customers are experiencing are a result of copper wire theft.
“It hasn’t gotten better,” said Gene Reed, the CenturyLink Regional Manager for Field Operations in Western Washington “It’s actually gotten worse over the last two years.”
Reed said one of his supervisors deals with five to eight thefts a day in his general area.
In some cases, Reed said thieves will target areas that have been recently repaired.
“Before we can even start splicing it, they come back and steal the brand new cable,” he said.
Reed could not provide a definitive answer for how long stolen cables take to repair, since the repairs can vary case-by-case. He said repairs depend on the size and length of the cable, as well as the makeup of the cable.
He also points to factors outside the company’s control.
“A lot of our rural areas that get hit are on highways,” he said. “Highway 164 that goes between Auburn and Enumclaw. It’s a state highway and so we have to get permits and sometimes those take time.”
One of the biggest complaints customers have voiced has been about incorrect restoration estimates.
“At least be honest with your customer,” Joseph said. “That way their expectations aren’t a day or two, and the next thing you know you’re two weeks in.”
Reed says when an issue is called in, an initial estimate is provided. Technicians on site will then work to provide a more accurate estimate after examining the issue in person.
We asked Reed what the long-term solution would be to solve the issue.
“We work closely with law enforcement agencies,” he said. “We have some people that are willing to and interested in sponsoring legislation that can put tighter reins on the recycling agencies that are accepting it.”
Reed said customers should also monitor and report any suspicious activity, and call to report an outage when it occurs.
For those customers waiting for problems to be fixed, a solution can’t come fast enough.
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