One of our upstream fiber providers had a fiber cut between Wichita Falls and DFW. The Wichita Falls, Iowa Park, Lakeside City, and Memorial Stadium networks are currently running on the backup service until the fiber is repaired.
Holliday is at full speeds and is not affected by the fiber cut.
Some people have expressed concern about the frequency of fiber cuts, so here is a brief explanation of why it keeps happening.
All internet connectivity to the greater-Wichita Falls area comes in through fiber optics lines from Lubbock, DFW, or Oklahoma City. Running fiber 200+ miles is extremely expensive, so it is done by the large Tier 1 companies such as AT&T and others. Smaller providers then rent space on the fiber optic lines to get connection to the big city networks.
There is a great deal of construction going on between Wichita Falls and DFW, and a backhoe or boring crew hitting a line anywhere between the cities will cause a complete outage to anyone down the line, just like hitting a water main will. Many of the crews doing work in DFW are not following proper procedures to call in underground utility locates and are hitting many different utilities underground, including fiber optic lines.
We protect against this by paying for more than 1 fiber optic line that takes diverse geographical routes to DFW so that the likelihood of a total outage is greatly reduced. That is why the network is able to continue running during a fiber cut.
We will provide updates as the upstream provider provides updates. It will most likely be repaired during the night.
