Sertex Resolves Norwalk Outage
Even the most reliable telecommunications infrastructures can go down without warning. When it happens, quickly identifying the issue and restoring connectivity demands rapid problem-solving and decisive action.
That’s precisely what happened on the morning of Friday, April 4, when the City of Norwalk, Connecticut, experienced a major outage disrupting its emergency and municipal services. With essential fire and police services offline, the city contacted Sertex for on-call emergency restoration.
The city reached out at 11:30 am, and Sertex responded immediately, dispatching a technician who arrived in less than two hours.
Once onsite, Sertex technician Alex worked diligently alongside city personnel to identify the issue. He traced the cause to accidental damage from a construction crew working near the South Norwalk train station. An underground conduit was inadvertently dug up, severing critical fiber optic cables and disrupting communications.
By 7 pm, Alex and Norwalk's Traffic Engineering team had finalized a plan to restore service. A temporary aerial solution was devised to bypass the compromised conduit due to the extent of the damage.
Sertex dispatched two fiber technicians and a line construction crew early on Saturday, April 5, to complete the repair. The team worked throughout the day to install a new aerial fiber line and splice it into the city's existing network. By 6 pm, service was fully restored to all affected departments.
Thomas Livingston, the City of Norwalk’s chief of staff, expressed his gratitude, saying, “Friday demonstrated how dependent we all are on this system. We especially appreciate Sertex’s rapid response, hard work, and teamwork on Friday and over the weekend to get us up and running again.”
Thanks to the commitment and expertise of the Sertex on-call emergency restoration team, Norwalk’s critical communication infrastructure was swiftly restored to ensure safety and support for city residents.
