The Hawaiian Telcom building on Bishop Street, downtown Honolulu.
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Several Hawaiian Telcom customers have been without phone and high-speed Internet service for weeks in East Honolulu because of debris from a water main break last month.
The service disruption began about two weeks ago in the areas of Kaimuki and Maunalani Heights, and the number of customers affected has increased recently to about 140, said Ann Nishida Fry, Hawaiian Telcom spokeswoman.
Nishida Fry said the cause of the outage is believed to be a 12-inch water main break on Waialae Avenue near Koko Head Avenue on Oct. 21. Water from the break pushed several feet of asphalt, rocks and other debris into an open manhole containing the phone company’s underground cables.
Contractors have successfully removed all of the debris, allowing access to the damaged section of cable, and Hawaiian Telcom personnel are working on splicing the lines.
"Whenever we have significant damage to a cable, our technicians need to cut out and remove the damaged section, cut and place in a new section and then individually splice each line at both ends," Nishida Fry said. "Splicing is precise, painstaking work that takes time to complete properly, but we have two shifts working around the clock to restore service to our customers as quickly as possible."
Customers experiencing a service disruption can report the outage to Hawaiian Telcom at 643-6111 or online at hawaiiantel.com/support. Customers are encouraged to provide alternate contact information to receive situation updates.
Hawaiian Telcom said customers can have their calls forwarded to a working number and receive a prorated credit. The company also has a limited number of cellphones to loan out on a case-by-case basis.