TULSA, Okla. — Since the derecho came through town, internet service has been spotty for some Tulsans.
2 News heard from a few people who are having issues with Cox Communications. We spoke with one man who says he’s had enough.
"T-Mobile, we’re probably switching to them," said Andrew Helmstadter, former Cox customer.
First, Helmstadter's power went out. The lights came back on Friday, but he was still without internet. So he tried to get some money back.
"After the fourth time I called in, they told me they couldn’t give me any more credits," Helmstadter said, "That I would have to call after my service was restored."
Helmstadter was frustrated with the lack of an internet connection. On top of that, he just felt cheated.
“The great thing about electricity is, you’re not getting charged for it when you’re not using it," Helmstadt said, "Cox, however, you’re still paying full price, even though your service is down and there’s no telling when it’s going to be back up.”
Helmstadter and his girlfriend do business online and rely on Wi-Fi. So do many other Tulsans. One place they can go when the internet is down is the library. In fact, they don't even have to walk into the building.
“Now we even have Wi-Fi accessible just in our parking lots. So if the library is closed for the day, you can sit in the parking lot," said Buddy Ingalls of the Tulsa Library System.
"Do some of your business and just have a quiet place to do some work,” Ingalls said.
Helmstadter thinks Cox was solid for the most part. A few outages here and there, but it always got back up and running. He expects a different experience with his new provider.
“There’s no way we could have equivalent speeds, but just the price difference alone. We’re willing to take a step back,” Helmstadter said.
The following statement is from Christine Martin, a spokesperson for Cox Communications:
"Much like the power company, we have made significant progress. As you know, when power comes back for people, their Cox services generally follow. There is, of course, additional damage at times, and we've been working around the clock as power comes back to access those areas and get those customers back up and running. We have the vast majority of customers online, but there are still a few pockets in the worst-hit areas where work continues. We've brought in crews from surrounding states and will continue to work until we are fully restored."
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