Cottage Grove residents frustrated with CenturyLink phone and internet service
COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. — As many as 300 CenturyLink customers in Cottage Grove are experiencing issues with phone and internet service.
The problem stems from water damage to underground cables. In Cottage Grove, CenturyLink’s problems didn’t start overnight. Stan Simonsen’s father hasn’t had services in a while.
“He said he’s been out of service for over a week,” Simonson said. “It’s frustrating, especially for seniors who have problems with cellular equipment and other things, that their landlines aren’t working.”
Simonson’s father is 80 years old and lives on a landline. Simonson said he recently spoke with his father on April 10, who told him his phone service was completely out.
He also said that not only himself, but several of his friends also encountered problems. Simonson said CenturyLink’s problems are nothing new.
He said: “About six months ago he had some issues and it took them a few days to finally reroute him and they mentioned that a lot of the old lines in the Sears Road area where he lived were aging and needed replacement, so they rerouted the line so he had a phone.”
CenturyLink is actively working to replace the damaged cables. Simonson, meanwhile, is keeping a close eye on his father.
“I try to go home – see him every night instead of going home and I check on him to make sure he’s OK,” he said.
According to CenturyLink, the loss of service may continue for several more weeks. People weren’t too happy about it. Given his father’s advanced age, Simonson was frustrated that he couldn’t communicate with him as easily as he should.
“You know, as a widower, he’s home alone and the rest of the family gets worried when we can’t reach him,” he said.
Simonson hopes people in Cottage Grove will be considerate of those without phone or internet service.
“We need to come together as a community in Cottage Grove, we as a community, and we look out for each other,” he said.
He recommends people have a backup phone. You never know when it will come in handy. His father had one, and he had one to rely on.
“He did have an old flip phone – he wasn’t very good with smartphones, but he did have a flip phone that he could use to contact his family if he needed to,” he said.
He also advised residents to do whatever they can to help their neighbors.
He added, “If you can, and you have extra phones, let people you know borrow them until they can get them back.”
As of Thursday, April 11, some voice lines have been restored to hundreds of customers and CenturyLink is working on interim solutions for the remaining customers.
Julio Mora Rodriguez joined the KEZI 9 News team in October 2022 as a news reporter. If you have any story ideas, you can email Julio at jrodriguez@kezi.com.