In the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, many Buncombe County residents are without internet, an essential service needed for people working from home or students attending school online.
During the Hurricane Helene Community Briefing Wednesday morning, County Manager Avril Pinder stated that Spectrum experienced a major cut to an underground fiber optic line in Marion Tuesday evening. As of Oct. 16, 31,500 Spectrum customers remained offline, she said. According to Pinder, Spectrum crews are currently working on repairs.
Although Spectrum is the largest internet provider in the region, other internet providers have also experienced storm outages. This is when you can expect your internet to be restored.
Spectrum
As of Oct. 16, Spectrum said it expects full restoration for accessible homes with power in Buncombe County by Monday, Oct. 21.
Buncombe County spokesperson Lillian Govus said Wednesday morning that now that the fibers are in the ground, more cuts can be expected. She said Spectrum originally expected a recovery in the province on Friday, October 19. However, Spectrum updated its website Wednesday afternoon to say a full restoration can be expected by October 19 for all North Carolina counties except Buncombe, McDowell and Polk. Full recovery for these three provinces is expected on October 21.
As of Oct. 16, 68% of internet service in Buncombe County has been restored, according to Spectrum.
T-Mobile
As of October 10, T-Mobile stated that it was able to fully restore all but two locations affected by Tropical Storm Helene. One location is in Piedmont, South Carolina, and the other is outside Morganton, North Carolina, the company said. Bennet Ladyman, a member of T-Mobile’s public relations team, said internet has been restored to customers in Buncombe County.
Verizon
A Verizon spokesperson said 99 percent of cell sites affected by Tropical Storm Helene have been returned to service. Engineers are now focusing on optimizing and returning the network to pre-storm performance levels for locations that have returned to permanent fiber and commercial power, the spokesperson said. Nonstop efforts are underway to ensure sites powered by generators remain in use for Verizon customers and first responders until permanent commercial power is fully restored, they said.
According to Verizon, secondary fiber cuts due to debris cleanup and power restoration continue to impact the network.
“Residents can assist with recovery efforts by remembering not to touch or cut any cables that may have been moved during the storm. Clearing debris and repairing property are important tasks after a storm, but contacting 811 before any cleanup project, large or small, is the easiest step toward reducing the chance of fiber damage,” said the Verizon spokesperson.
AT&T
Only a small number of customers in Buncombe County may still experience disruptions to internet service, according to an AT&T spokesperson. This is mainly due to remaining commercial power outages and storm damage. AT&T said they have made significant progress with our restoration efforts and technicians will continue to work as quickly and safely as possible until all service is restored.
According to AT&T, service has since been restored to 94 percent of home and internet customers in North Carolina, where its known service was affected. Customers experiencing service issues can visit att.com, the myAT&T app or call 800-288-2020. Regular customers can also go to att.com/outages to sign up for one-time text alerts about service restoration, the spokesperson said.
Free Charging and Internet Stations in Buncombe County
The Buncombe County website states that the following sites are open for free charging and internet access:
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West Asheville Public Library, 942 Haywood Road, Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St. and Enka-Candler Library, 1404 Sand Hill Road in Candler, Buncombe County. The WiFi password is “read more”.
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A mobile charging and internet connectivity station has been installed in the lower parking lot of First Baptist Church in Black Mountain, 130 Montreat Road, Buncombe County.
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The Downtown Asheville YMCA is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to distribute essential items to the public, the province said. Wi-Fi and charging stations are available outside.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: When can Buncombe County expect the internet to return?
