CCU Offers Discounts: Utility To Adjust Billing For Internet Outages

by Janice Penix

Broadband customers who were affected by numerous recent internet outages will be provided with a 50 percent discount on their next monthly bill, representatives of Clarksville Connected Utilities told the City Council at its meeting Monday.

Ethan Powell, chairman of the CCU Commission, said the utility has committed to addressing the problems that caused the outages, as well as compensating customers who were adversely impacted.

The outages were the result of a fiber optic tube being cut that contained two of CCU’s main suppliers, and both Powell and CCU General Manager Roy Young said the utility is already working to address the situation to prevent further problems.

“We had significant disruption of internet services,” Powell said. “The backup and main lines were severed, and our two main suppliers came in on the same tube. We do have another supplier, but it is only six gigs, so the whole city was running on six gigs where it normally is over 70 gigs.”

Jason Sparks, who leads the broadband department at CCU, said the city’s fiber optic network is served by three providers, one a 40-gigabyte line, one a 30-gigabyte line, and the third the six-gigabyte line.

“The 30 and 40 are in the same tube, and it was cut in Little Rock, so both circuits were down,” Sparks said. “They went down Sunday and didn’t get repaired until Thursday, so everyone was using the six-gigs.”

Young told the Council the utility’s $8,000 monthly contract with Windstream will end in December, and CCU does not plan to renew its agreement with that provider. Instead, Sparks explained, the utility will increase its bandwidth with the provider of the six-gigabyte line, which has provided better service.

“Their connection has been rock solid through all of this,” Sparks said. “It will save us money too.”

Powell said the Commission will address the issues through the provider contracts but also felt it was important to provide customers with some type of compensation for lost services.

Mayor David Rieder commended the CCU staff and administrators for working hard to address the problem but encouraged them to improve their communication with customers when problems arise.

“You’re not responsible for what happened in 2019 (when the fiber network was constructed), but you are responsible for how you respond to it today,” Rieder said. “You’ve got to communicate with the public. It’s incumbent on you.”

Young said the CCU administration is working to develop communication protocols and an action plan for responding to emergencies such as service disruptions.

Also in this story…Baseball Complex,Wrecker Permit Issued, Police Chief To Retire, Other Matters, which can be read in the in the April 16 edition of The Graphic, found online and in businesses throughout Johnson and Franklin counties.