Here are some of the comments and stories that Sun-News readers shared about Tuesday's widespread telephone and Internet outage across virtually all of southern New Mexico:

 

"Different parts of Las Cruces experienced differing outage times. In Trails West, just off Avenida de Mesilla, we were without phone service for just over five hours. Our service went down around 3:40 p.m. and wasn't restored until 8:48 p.m. Our Qwest-provided Internet came up earlier, at about 7:30 p.m. The lack of local and long-distance service wasn't so much a concern as was the lack of 911 service in this large community of elderly retirees. Although some of us had working cell phones, we understand that 911 was not working. Until we received the four temporary 'emergency' phone numbers, we were dependent on ham radio for emergency communication. How is it that a cable cut near Socorro can disable local phone and 911 service throughout southern New Mexico? Are all of our local calls being routed through a central switch in northern New Mexico?"

Alfred L. Lindsey, Las Cruces

"I'm interested in knowing if the Qwest mishap was in any way connected to several glitches with Comcast last night. My family and I were watching a good program on the History Channel, but service was interrupted about a half dozen times."

Bob Nosbisch, M.A., New Mexico State University

 

"I use Qwest for home phone service and when

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I returned (Monday) from home, I noticed my phone line down but the Internet working. The next day (Tuesday), the phone was still out and while I was online around 3:30 p.m., ZAP, the entire line went dead. To communicate, I had to rely on my Verizon service, which for me was unaffected. Until I heard about the construction mishap, I kept thinking this kind of reminds me of that episode from NCIS called 'Blackout' where crooks initiated a city-wide blackout with a device that knocked out the power grid, not phone lines. It was frustrating and unsettling as I'm waiting for calls to be interviewed for employment."

Bruce Anderson, Mesilla Park

 

"I was on my way home with my mom, who I had just picked up at work. My mom called our house to tell that my grandma we were on our way home and (to ask) if we needed anything from town. But when we called, the line sounded like someone was using it. So, we called again and my mom said it sounded like it was disconnected. My mom and I worried that something had happened at home (and) that someone had cut the phone line. So, my mom and I rushed home. When we arrived we rushed to check on my grandma and she was fine. We checked the phone and tried calling my mom's cell phone but the line sounded disconnected. So, she called (Qwest) and asked what was wrong with the phone, and said that she had paid the bill. Then they told her what had happened and why the phones were not receiving and making calls."

Joshua Padilla, Las Cruces

 

"Out here off of Baylor Canyon Road, we had no land line and no service with Sprint, so the advertised emergency numbers would not have worked. Our Internet service with La Tierra (aka Zianet.com) went nowhere outside of their servers, so no e-mail and no Internet. The only connections we had was through a Cricket broadband dongle on a laptop, and through the OnStar phone in my wife's car. What I cannot understand is why line breaks over a hundred miles north of Las Cruces caused everything to come to a screeching halt. What happened to connections going south to El Paso? The PRC (New Mexico Public Regulation Commission) needs to have Qwest explain how they are going to prevent this from happening again."

Paul Lindsey, Las Cruces

 

"About 5:30 (p.m.) I went to get gas at the Fina station on Union, just east of main. No credit card functions anywhere. (I) went to another station at University and Locust - same story. People were frantically pulling out small bills and digging for change. I bought $10 worth of gas, then rushed to the Wells Fargo branch on El Paseo. Fortunately the ATM was working and I withdrew some cash."

William Leland, Las Cruces

 

"This problem started long before (Tuesday). I was traveling to T or C on Friday when a young lady ran into my truck on Interstate 25, between the rest area and the Border Patrol station around mile marker 23. I tried a number of times to call 911 and got the recorded message that this number has been temporarily disconnected. I called the Central Dispatch here in Las Cruces, as in a previous job I was always calling them and had the number memorized. I advised the male person who answered the phone at around 6:22 p.m. on Dec. 10 that there was a problem with the 911 service and he told me that he would just transfer me over to the state police as they are the ones who I needed for my accident, based on my location of my accident. I don't doubt that he transferred me to the appropriate area, but he should have listened to me when I told him that there was a problem with the communication network.

"(I) just thought I would share this and maybe people will listen to all that is said rather than thinking of their response, there was a greater message missed here."

Mike Rundell, Las Cruces