Thousands of Xfinity customers in Southeast Albuquerque experienced a frustrating internet outage lasting almost 24 hours. The outage, which began around 6 p.m. Monday and continued into Tuesday, affected approximately 15,000 residential and business customers, representing nearly 10% of Xfinity's Albuquerque customer base, according to Comcast spokesperson Kyle Biederwolf.
Comcast confirmed that technicians were on-site working to restore internet service and issued a statement apologizing for the inconvenience. "We know any time without service is frustrating and apologize for the inconvenience to our customers," the company stated.
What Caused the Xfinity Outage?
Initially, Xfinity cited "damage by a third party" as the cause of the outage. Later, the New Mexico Gas Company (NMGC) took responsibility for damaging the internet line while responding to a gas leak near Elm Street and Silver Avenue.
Tim Korte, public information officer for NMGC, explained that a team "struck and damaged" the line while addressing the gas leak. The leak, in turn, was reportedly caused by a third party performing a bore to install a fiber optic cable.
Documents from NM811 indicated that Denca, a contractor for Gigapower (one of three companies installing fiber optic lines in Albuquerque), was working in the area around the time of the gas leak. The documents stated that the contractor hit a two-inch plastic gas line while boring.
Internet Service Restored
Comcast has since reported that internet service has been restored to the affected customers. Xfinity customers can check the status of an outage anytime in the Xfinity App or at Xfinity.com/outage. Customers can also sign up for updates.
This incident highlights the challenges of infrastructure maintenance and the potential for unexpected disruptions when multiple utilities are operating in the same area. The investigation by N.M. Gas will hopefully prevent similar incidents in the future.