Cut off from the outside world for a day

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

A cut fiber optic line near Gaylord is believed to be the cause of major communication problems across several northeastern Michigan counties, including Presque Isle County. According to emergency services coordinator Norm Smith, PI central dispatch 9-1-1 was down most of the day; however, while there was a level of frustration with no Internet or Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN), there were no reported problems with emergency situations.

?The system was actually out, but it has an internal redundancy to flip to the city police phone line, which then in turn flips right back to the dispatch center, so no 9-1-1 calls are lost,? said Smith.

The line was cut early Wednesday afternoon and bac

k up about 7:30 p.m., Smith believes. Cheboygan County didn?t experience any disruption, according to Cheboygan County undersheriff Michael Newman.

At Tom?s Family Market in downtown Onaway, a sign posted to the sliding doors stated that no credit, debit, or bridge cards could be accepted until the system was back up. The outage also created several problems for people trying to call out of the area and limited cellular phone service.

Smith said the last time a fiber optic line was cut it took two days to get it back up and running. ?We got through it unscathed, so that was good,? said Smith.

The other counties affected included Alpena, Montmorency and Oscoda.

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