Lively telephone service will be restored by mid-afternoon: Bell

UPDATE - Bell expects full telephone service to be restored to customers in Lively by mid-afternoon July 9.

Telephone services were knocked out for about 500 customers during the evening of July 8, not 1,200 as previously reported by Greater Sudbury Police. About 200 customers have already had their telephone services restored.

The outage is in the area of 10th Avenue at Main Street.

Greater Sudbury Police are doing extra patrols in the area to ensure the safety of residents. Cell phone service still works in the area.

The telephone outage was caused by a customer who was digging with a shovel in his backyard while doing renovations on a carport, according to Bell spokesperson Norma Hughes Howard.

The shovel pushed back the sheath on the telephone cable, causing moisture to get in the line and a chain reaction to occur.

The repairs have taken a long time because the technicians had to ensure the carport structure was stable, she said.

Hughes Howard said the cable damage was “purely accidental,” but she encourages anyone needing to dig in their backyards to phone Bell first to see if there are any buried cables in the area. Phone 1-800-400-2255 for more information.