HELENA — Fiber optic lines are being placed around town, but as some are going in, something else is being cut out.
"We just don't have internet, and we haven't had it since the 30th of June," said Terry White.
He lives in the South Hills of Helena, and his job depends on having the internet.
Hear from affected residents:
"It's just made it a little more problematic, and I've had to tell my clients that they may not get responses immediately, the way they were used to," said White.
The internet line was cut while work was being done to install new infrastructure.
The three companies involved in that work are Ledcor, CenturyLink, and Charter Communications, also known as Spectrum.
"I understand that the infrastructure needs to go in, but maybe do it the right way," said Victor Daniel, another South Hills resident. "Slow down. Don't leave a bunch of damage in your wake and just hope it gets fixed."
His wife also needs the internet for her job, but there are other significant impacts for them going without Wi-fi.
"We don't have a landline," said Daniel. "We have cell service, and that's also not very reliable. Most of our calls go through Wi-fi calling."
Through researching this story, I have heard from multiple sources who say the locators for the lines only look to find the main line and not other drop lines that connect to individual properties, like internet lines.
Those sources have said it is cheaper to send a repair person instead of more locators.
Daniel said, "That's what I've heard, that they are supposed to just keep going and deal with it."
It appears that more than just internet lines have been cut; social media posts and comments suggest that gas and water lines have also been affected.
Contacting the three companies has been difficult for some residents.
"I contacted all of them yesterday, and it is the situation of being bounced around," said Daniel.
I also reached out to the three companies: Ledcor, CenturyLink, and Charter Communications.
Here is CenturyLink's response:
"At CenturyLink, we take these allegations seriously and want to be clear: we do not condone or engage in any practice that involves intentionally cutting service lines. Should we find any evidence of such actions, it would violate our Code of Conduct and technician standards and would result in immediate disciplinary action.
Based on our preliminary review, it appears that another company may have caused damage to our service line. Our teams are prioritizing service restoration and remain dedicated to delivering responsive support and dependable service for all customers."
Here is Charter Communications' response:
"A third-party contractor is working on our behalf to expand our fiber-optic network in Lewis and Clark County. This project includes the underground installation of fiber lines. We are closely monitoring the work to ensure it is completed safely, efficiently, and in accordance with all required standards."
MTN did not receive a response from Ledcor.
