Verizon says fixing Sandy's damage to wired services may take weeks

November 05, 2012

Consumers in the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy may not get wired phone, Internet and video service back for as long as two weeks, Verizon Communications warned, while the FCC reported continued slow progress by carriers in restoring mobile coverage. The wired service outages could include the company's high-speed FiOS fiber-optic service as well as data and voice services over copper lines, Verizon spokesman Alberto Canal said. Verizon can't restore many of its services in areas that still don't have commercial power, he said. For safety reasons, the carrier's crews have to wait until power cables are placed before bringing communications back, he said. The time estimate offered late Friday by Verizon, the incumbent wireline carrier based in New York, was its longest yet. Though service is steadily being restored, the deadly storm that made landfall late Monday with ferocious winds, rain and floods has proved also to be a lingering communications catastrophe for residents of some areas. Verizon's own headquarters suffered major flooding, though that building and four other facilities in lower Manhattan and Long Island have been brought back online with emergency power. The carrier's crews are working around the clock to restore backup power to several other flooded sites in lower Manhattan and Queens. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2013511/verizon-says-fixing-sandys-damage-to-wired-service-may-take-weeks.html