More than 1,000 of Verizon Communications' business customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland lost data and voice service for about eight hours Monday after a tree fell on one of the telco's aerial fiber-optic cables.
Overnight, a tree next to railroad tracks in Hagerstown, Md., fell on an aerial fiber and caused the fiber to lean over the tracks, Verizon spokesman Lee Gierczynski said. When a train came through the area, it snagged the cable and cut service.
About 1,000 business customers called in trouble reports related to the incident, according to Gierczynski. The cut affected the Verizon Business network so it didn't affect residential services such as FiOS TV, phone or Internet although some customers may have experienced some voicemail issues, he added.
The cable was cut around 3 a.m. Monday and Verizon restored service by 11:30 a.m., according to Gierczynski.
