Southwest Florida residents frustrated over lack of internet

Hurricane Ian knocked out the internet for thousands of people and many still don’t have it.

Many people have called and e-mailed WINK News expressing your frustration, especially if you work from home.

A lot of equipment got damaged in the storm and trees leaning are on the lines are causing even more delays for you.

Andrew Barbera just wants to know when the Comcast services he pays for will come back on.

“When you call them to get the information first they tell you they’re sorry. ‘We’re doing everything we can.’ And then they say, ‘If you want more information on the status go to our website.’ But how do you get to their website if you don’t have the internet to get onto the website?” Barbera said.

WINK News spoke with Comcast. The company said 25 of its service areas are predominantly restored, including Fort Myers and Cape Coral, which, if correct, should mean that 90% of customers can watch their favorite shows and scroll online.

“You don’t realize how much you like watching TV until it’s not there and it’s very difficult. I mean, you’ve got a phone, but you read, but what else are you going to do? It’s tough,” Barbera said.

Comcast added their new lines, but they are being cut and damaged by debris removal crews, which is slowing down the pace of the restoration at times. This is not uncommon after a hurricane.

Teams are still working on small pocket outages that might impact individual homes or your street.

But Barbera just wants an estimate.

“Updates. Just regular updates. Even if it’s every other day. Somewhere where when you call they tell you,” Barbera said.

Century Link said there are roughly 2,000 reported outages in Cape Coral, Pine Island, and North Fort Myers.

For the most part, their core network has been restored. Crews are trying to repair the poles and ground boxes up and running. That’s how you get internet into your home or your business.