Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband Resilience topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Thomasville officials warn repeated fiber cuts have left 911 and businesses vulnerable
Summary
Council members and the mayor described multiple recent fiber-line cuts that disrupted phone and internet service—at times affecting 911 access— and said the city will press carriers and regulators for improved locating and redundancy.
The council heard an extended discussion about repeated fiber-line cuts that have disrupted phone and internet service across Thomasville and, in some cases, prevented residents from reaching 911.
Mayor (Speaker 1) said the most recent outages left the city with “one main AT and T fiber. When it gets cut, we’re out,” adding that some cuts affected both AT&T and Verizon and left elderly residents and downtown businesses without landlines or internet for days. “In one instance nobody worked on it over the weekend,” the mayor said, noting the carrier told the city the outage affected a limited number of customers but that those households and businesses still paid for service.
A council member (Speaker 3), who raised the issue during the meeting, warned the problem poses public-safety risks: “In some cases…[cuts have] been able to stop people from even being able to call 911,” the member said, and council discussion noted hospitals and medical records transfers can also be affected when networks are down.
City officials described steps they have taken and planned: contacting the state public-service commission and ALDOT, scheduling a call with stakeholders to explore regulatory and operational remedies, and pushing carriers to enforce locating and contractor supervision. Officials said some of the problem stems from directional-boring contractors striking buried lines without proper locates and from limited fiber-path redundancy in rural networks.
Council members urged urgency and called for the city to continue documenting outages and impacts so regulators and carriers can better prioritize repairs and mitigation. The discussion produced no formal ordinance or vote but signaled that the council expects follow-up with the public-service commission, ALDOT and service providers.
