CenturyLink will give credit to customers impacted by the mid-November communications outage, according to Tim Grigar, vice president and general Manager of the telecom company’s Western Washington region.

Customers should receive credit for the 10-day outage either on their bill in December or in January, depending on billing cycles, Grigar noted in a Dec. 6 press release.

“… I want to let you know we understand the frustration you experienced during the interruption of service due to the underwater fiber optic cable cut,” Grigar said. “Please know that CenturyLink acted quickly and worked around the clock to restore service to your community. CenturyLink is committed to our San Juan County customers and the community.”

On Nov. 5, primary sources of communication, including telephone, Internet and 911 services, disappeared for many people, businesses and government agencies in the San Juan Islands in the wake of a failure in a CenturyLink underwater fiber-optic cable connecting Lopez and San Juan islands.

The break in the cable, located at a depth of 280 feet in San Juan Channel, was repaired roughly 10 days after the outage began. CenturyLink, Orcas Power & Light Cooperative and local independent telecom providers teamed up to reroute much of the traffic on CenturyLink’s system while the repair was under way.

Meanwhile, the outage and its impact in the San Juans, and CenturyLink’s response, remains under investigation by the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission. The commission meets Monday, Dec. 9, in Friday Harbor, beginning at 6 p.m., in the San Juan County Council Legislative Hearing Room, 55 Second St., Friday Harbor.

For information, contact CenturyLink, 800-943-8809.