Storm preparations designed to minimize storm impact and to facilitate restoration efforts
Atlantic Broadband, the nation’s eighth-largest cable operator, is closely monitoring Hurricane Dorian and is conducting extensive preparation actions in advance of the storm to minimize disruptions and to respond to potential storm impacts.
Atlantic Broadband also will temporarily suspend disconnect activity, including disconnects for non-payment, so that customers will have access to services before and during the storm. Payment extensions will also be offered to customers.
“We know our customers rely on internet, TV and phone services for home and business and will do everything possible to keep services active and, in instances where outages occur, will work to restore services as soon as safely possible,” said Debbie Eblen, Vice President and General Manager of Atlantic Broadband’s South Carolina region.
In anticipation of the storm impact, Atlantic Broadband has conducted inventory and equipment reviews, tested redundancy systems, readied standby power and backup generators, secured spare equipment and supplies, including test equipment and safety gear.
Atlantic Broadband also has crews on-call for quick deployment to affected areas, including fiber splicing crews. Additional teams from outside the affected regions will be available to augment existing teams as circumstances require.
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Throughout the storm, Atlantic Broadband’s customer care and technical support teams will monitor storm progress 24/7.
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In the event of the loss of power or TV, internet or phone services, the Atlantic Broadband network will automatically alert the network operations team of the areas affected. Up-to-date storm alerts and outage information will be posted online and can be accessed at https://atlanticbb.com/my-services/my-account/outages-and-storms.
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Customers may report a problem with TV, internet or phone service via email or text message to storm@atlanticbb.com.
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Atlantic Broadband will also be posting updates for its customers to its Facebook page (@Atlanticbb) and Twitter handle (@AtlanticbbInc).
Depending on the track of the storm, Hurricane Dorian could cause extensive water and wind damage and accompanying commercial power outages. These outage situations may affect the availability of Atlantic Broadband TV, internet and phone service in impacted locations along the east coast.
The hurricane also has the potential to disrupt the distribution networks that provide Atlantic Broadband TV, Internet and Phone services to homes and businesses in the affected areas. In this instance, it is possible for customers to have electrical power at their home or business but not have Atlantic Broadband services if the distribution network has been disrupted in some way or suffers a loss of commercial power.
Even after passage of the storm, fallen trees and limbs may impede the restoration of electrical power, which must occur before Atlantic Broadband crews can begin their restoration efforts. Once commercial power is restored and safe access is possible, Atlantic Broadband will work as quickly as possible to restore services.
Customers are reminded that downed wires represent a serious safety hazard and never should be touched or moved. Customers are urged to report hanging or downed lines so that they can be safely repaired.
ABOUT ATLANTIC BROADBAND
Atlantic Broadband, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA), is the eighth-largest cable operator in the United States, based on the number of television service customers served. The company provides its residential and business customers with internet, TV and phone services in 11 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Atlantic Broadband is headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts. To learn more about Atlantic Broadband, please visit https://atlanticbb.com.
ABOUT ATLANTIC BROADBAND BUSINESS
Atlantic Broadband Business delivers advanced Video, Internet, Business WiFi and Phone services to small and medium businesses over a highly reliable, fiber-rich, high-capacity network. It also offers customized, scalable Metro Ethernet enterprise solutions, including dedicated fiber with symmetrical speeds up to 10 Gbps, point-point and multipoint transport, and Hosted Voice solutions. Atlantic Broadband supports its business clients with 24/7 network monitoring and technical support, professional client care, and dedicated local account executives. To learn more, visit atlanticbb.com/business.
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