WEST CHESTER, Ohio — Residents in one West Chester neighborhood say Altafiber, formerly Cincinnati Bell, has caused some major problems while installing fiber optic cables.
Steve Crispin said just one area has had to deal with power outages, a water main break and more during construction.
"It's been quite a nightmare just on our street alone,” Crispin said. "We've got a lot of broken electric lines, we've got two people without electric ... we have a main water break, it just goes on and on."
Just down the road, another neighbor’s gas line to their house was ruptured during construction. Subcontractors with Butler County were in the neighborhood earlier in the day drilling a hole, trying to restore water to homes.
"Well, they've hit my water line," neighbor Tony Novello said. "They're working on it right now."
They want answers from the company.
"It seems like a group of people have come and invaded the neighborhood,” Novello said. “I think maybe the end result might be good, but they've done a lot of damage in the process."
Altafiber provided WCPO with a statement saying in part, "We are currently in the process of completing our fiber build in Greater Cincinnati, which includes burying fiber in many neighborhoods. We apologize for the disruption to this resident and neighborhood as the result of our fiber construction and will repair any damage."
Neighbors said they’ve tried reaching out to the company but haven’t gotten a response.
"I left two calls on Monday — one early in the morning and another about 4 p.m. — and I still have not gotten a call back," Novello said. "It feels like no one is listening. And meanwhile, myself and my neighbors are suffering really."
And who will pay for the repairs?
"We don't know," Crispin said. "I hope we don’t, but we don’t know."
A spokesperson with Altafiber said they will follow up with residents in hopes of getting the situation resolved. Crispin said Friday evening the company's vice president of operations called him to say they will be looking into it and plan to make things right.
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