Oct. 30, 2008 – Citing 90 percent and 75 percent restoration completion rates of interrupted telephone and cable television services, respectively, as a result of Hurricane Omar two weeks ago, Innovative officials are appealing to subscribers who may still be experiencing trouble for their patience.
According to Innovative engineers, parts of the Innovative Cable TV plant were completely devastated, especially on the east end and coastal areas of St. Croix. They say it will take a longer of period of time to restore service to subscribers in those areas because there is more intricate work that needs to be accomplished there.
Officials say that less than 10 percent of its Innovative Telephone lines are currently out of service. However, the company has added additional resources to speed up the restoration process in these areas, which are more widespread and not contained to large neighborhoods.
"These services are not easily repaired because crews have to painstakingly reconnect hundreds of individual lines over a vast area," Innovative Telephone President and CEO E. Clarke Garnett said. "However, we would like to assure our customers that we are working long hours, seven days a week, as we move toward 100 percent restoration rates."
He added that although the company is in restoration mode on the island of St. Croix, it continues to perform new installation services and complete repair orders that were reported before the storm.
Line crews are working in the following areas today: La Grande Princesse, Little Princess, Mutual Homes, and Lorraine Village.
Areas where cable television service has been restored are as follows:
Pepper Tree Terrace, Estate Ruby, Sunny Isles, Good HopeVillas, Concordia Villas, Estate Concordia, Campo Rico, Work and Rest, and Peters Rest.
Areas where telephone service has been restored are as follows:
Harbor View, Estate St. John, Diamond Ruby, Concordia Manor, Sally's Fancy and Mount Washington.
Areas announced earlier this week as restored were:
Sion Farm, Golden Grove, Christiansted Town, Red Brick, Basin Triangle, Alders Ville, Sections of Mary's Fancy, Water Gut, Queens Quarter, Tan Tan Terrace, Sections of Estate Richmond, Sections of Constitution Hill, Golden Rock, Harbor View, Commorant, Commorant Manor, Sections of Estate St. John, Sections of Catherine's Rest, Sections of Hermon Hill, Mon Bijou, Sections of Sion Hill, Sections of Glynn, Royal Manor, Sections of Calquohoun, Sections of Work and Rest, Lagoon Street Project, Queen Street, King Street, Strand Street, Prince Street, Sections of Grove Place, Sections of Orange Grove, Estate C. Condos, Tide Village, Mango Court, Sections of Boetzberg, Marienhoj, Sections of Sally's Fancy, Rattan, Little Princess Hill, Rattan Road, Five Corners, West Side of Princess, Hibiscus Beach, Princess Manor, all condos in Princess, Annaly Farm (Upper Love), Sections of Coble Jealousy, West Calquohoun, North and West Upper Love, Corn Hill and Estate River Granard.
As reported earlier this week, several of the areas mentioned above have had service disruption after having been deemed restored due to power fluctuations. Crews will be double-checking those areas today. There may also be some pockets in these areas that were restored that are still without service. Customers in these areas are encouraged to call back to make a report.
Some parts of Judith Fancy were also restored. Crews continue to work in the area to complete repairs there.
Crews have also been dispatched to major areas for telephone service restoration in the following areas: Estate Carlton, Strawberry Hill, Williams Delight, LaGrange, Estate Whim, and Work and Rest.
For repairs of telephone and cable television, customers should call 912 or 778-1742. Customers with Internet access may submit their reports to the following e-mail address: svcupdt1@iccvi.com. In the e-mail, customers should include their telephone or Cable TV account number, address, the problem they are experiencing, a contact number and brief directions.
PowerNet DSL Internet customers whose telephone service is restored yet continue to experience problems should call 714-3700 to make a report.
