As millions of Californians endure blackouts during this week's PG&E public safety power shut-offs, a major cable and internet provider says its customers may experience service disruptions as well.
In a blog post, Comcast warned subscribers that they may temporarily lose Xfinity cable TV and internet − even if their power stays on.
"While the power to your home may be on, parts of our network that provide your Xfinity service may be in areas where the commercial power is unavailable, thereby leading to a disruption of service," Comcast said. "Once power is restored to those portions of the network, we will restore service ASAP when it is safe to do so."
A Comcast outage map on the DownDetector website appeared to show a heavy concentration of reported Comcast outages in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. Comcast's own outage map on its subscriber service website appeared to show similar results.
Several commenters on DownDetector.com complained of problems around the Bay Area.
"In downtown Berkeley CA, my building has no internet and it's Comcast internet," wrote one commenter. "My building has had no power outages."
"We've had no Comcast internet service since 11PM 9th October in zip code 94611," wrote another.
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Comcast added that service disruptions could vary from one neighborhood to the next, or even among next-door neighbors.
"Even though your neighbor may have service, it’s possible that your home receives its Xfinity connection from another part of our network that has been affected by the severe weather," Comcast said. "Crews will restore services as quickly as possible.Even though your neighbor may have service, it’s possible that your home receives its Xfinity connection from another part of our network that has been affected by the severe weather. Crews will restore services as quickly as possible."
A Comcast advised customers with concerns to visit its website, or to call 800-934-6489.
Editor's note: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which is the owner of NBC Bay Area.
