Cable TV service cut to Bedford County side of Smith Mountain Lake

Some Comcast customers near Smith Mountain Lake in Bedford County have been without television for more than 10 days because a sliced cable has proved to be difficult to fix.

Service was disrupted Aug. 10 after a fiber optic cable was cut near the lake. The area affected is near Smith Mountain Lake State Park.

Comcast customer Char Murdock said she was told by a Comcast employee that a boat on the lake sliced a cable. She was also told that about 600 homes were without service.

Murdock said she and her husband were switching between watching tennis and golf on Aug. 10 when their cable went out around 1:30 p.m. A digital clock on the screen still worked, she said, until she called Comcast and asked how to fix her service.

“They told me to plug and unplug it,” she said. “I did that umpteen dozen times. Then nothing worked.”

After trying to schedule an appointment for repair, she learned the scope of the outage.

“A guy called who saw we had an appointment,” she said. “He said, ‘It’s not you. It’s an optical cable line.’ I asked him how long it would take to fix and he didn’t say anything. I said, ‘Weeks?’ And he didn’t say anything. I said, ‘A month or what?’ And he said, ‘I have no idea.’ ”

Comcast spokeswoman Alisha Martin said that technicians “are working around the clock” to repair the cable.

“It’s been a difficult repair,” she said.

She could not confirm how the cable was cut or how many people are affected, saying “it is a small number of customers.”

Martin did not know when service would be restored. Company employees have contacted some of the affected customers. She said that Comcast subscribers would receive credits on their bills after the service is restored.

“We’re continuing to reach out to customers to keep them apprised,” she said. “We’ve been reaching out since last week to apologize for the inconvenience.”

Weather Journal

2 days ago

1. One person injured in Friday night shooting in Roanoke

2. Britney Spears spotted at Lynchburg restaurant

3. East Carolina poses new challenge for Virginia Tech football 

4. 'Best defense in nation,' Tech player says about victory over ECU 

5. Lowe's tapes may hold clues to Roanoke woman's death

6. William Byrd stuns Salem in football win

7. Concert review: Timeless Willie Nelson plays to appreciative crowd

8. Blacksburg lawyer Painter’s bond revoked

9. History says this one will matter for Virginia Tech

10. Roanoke County electrical short quiets 5 Wheeler radio stations