TheCableVine
June 11th, 2008, 04:15 AM
The Salt Lake Tribune (http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9540678)
Telephone service - including cell phones - was knocked out for about nine hours Monday in Washington and Kane counties after a construction crew cut a large fiber-optic line north of St. George.
A backhoe severed the line near the town of Pintura, Washington County, about 3 p.m., said Johnna Hoff, spokeswoman for Qwest.
The major fiber-optic line carried both cell phone and land-line signals. However, 9-1-1 and other emergency communications were not interrupted, Hoff said.
"Our first priority is to public safety," she said. "Fortunately we were able to re-route [emergency] phone traffic."
Qwest crews were able to repair the line and restore service by 12:33 a.m. Tuesday, Hoff said.
Telephone service - including cell phones - was knocked out for about nine hours Monday in Washington and Kane counties after a construction crew cut a large fiber-optic line north of St. George.
A backhoe severed the line near the town of Pintura, Washington County, about 3 p.m., said Johnna Hoff, spokeswoman for Qwest.
The major fiber-optic line carried both cell phone and land-line signals. However, 9-1-1 and other emergency communications were not interrupted, Hoff said.
"Our first priority is to public safety," she said. "Fortunately we were able to re-route [emergency] phone traffic."
Qwest crews were able to repair the line and restore service by 12:33 a.m. Tuesday, Hoff said.