Signal to Noise

Kinda makes Vonage looks suddenly appealing. This just in from the Chronicle-Telegram:

Shawn Foucher
The Chronicle-Telegram
COLUMBIA STATION — At least 3,500 Columbia Station residents were without phone service for more than 15 hours Saturday when the phone company’s software malfunctioned.
Phone service in Columbia Station and Columbia Township went completely dead around 1 a.m., a Windstream Communications spokeswoman said.
Unlike the outage that Windstream’s Elyria customers endured last week when they were still able to call 9-1-1, Columbia Station residents were completely without service.
Service was restored in most homes shortly after 4:30 p.m., said Erin Ascione, a spokeswoman for Windstream, formerly Alltel.
“They couldn’t use their landline at all to dial any number,” Ascione said. “That includes 9-1-1.”
The breakdown in service prompted officials with the Lorain County Emergency Management Agency and Lorain County 9-1-1 to broadcast radio and television alerts. Columbia Station and nearby residents were advised to use a cell phone if their landlines were out.
If they didn’t have a cell phone, Ascione recommended using a neighbor’s.
“We were absolutely worried,” Ascione said. “Our customers are our first priority, but we hope that they’d have neighbors who could help and be aware of any problems and check on things like that.”