GCET

Thursday 2/12/26
Update - 3:25pm

We have identified the issues causing the disruptions in our network. We have begun working on making changes to the network to try to correct these issues. So - in plain language...We are not telling you that everything is OK yet, but we have made a lot of progress in the last few hours. We are actively working on fixes and we will keep you informed.

We also want to say that we have seen many good suggestions about how we can improve our communication during this crisis. We hear you. After the network is fixed, we will collect these suggestions to incorporate into a better communications plan going forward. When it is done, we will share it with everyone.

Thank you so much for you patience. we get that this sucks, and we are doing our utmost to get things up and running.

From The Chair of the GCET Board of Commissioners

As some of you may know, I serve as Chair of the volunteer GCET Board of Commissioners. Since the start of the outage, I have refrained from posting because I have had no more information to share than what has been communicated by the GCET team. That remains the case today.

As both a board member and a GCET customer, I have lost sleep over this situation. I have heard from many friends and community members about how this outage has negatively impacted them. It is always frustrating to be in a position where you want to help but have little you can offer.

Here is what I can share. A critical piece of hardware failed on Monday morning , equipment that costs well over $100,000. For a community internet provider, keeping a spare of that magnitude is not typical. When GCET contacted the hardware supplier, they initially attempted to repair the existing equipment. That effort delayed the shipment of a replacement unit. After all repair options were exhausted, the hardware vendor agreed to ship new equipment.

Once the new unit arrived, it was installed quickly. However, the vendor then advised that a complete system update would be required. While the GCET team believed this would be more complicated than it sounded, the vendor did not offer an alternative path. As someone noted in an earlier post, an update of this scale can trigger the need for additional changes. The update required by the vendor took multiple hours to install. It did trigger the need for additional changes and the work to address those changes had been ongoing since early evening yesterday. As of approximately 3:15 this morning, those changes have been addressed and work on the original problem has resumed.

At the moment, approximately half of GCET customers have service. Half do not. We are working on resolving this issue. That is where we are.

Although this message does not change the timeline for resolution, I wanted to share what I can. The GCET team is working around the clock to restore service. They understand the frustration and anger many are feeling. They are not only employees, they are also community members and GCET customers. Their work is personal, and they know many of the people affected. That is not an easy place to be, especially when they feel the frustration directed at them.

Like you, I hope we are nearing the end of this situation. Once service is fully restored, the board and the GCET team will meet to review what happened, determine how we can improve moving forward, and discuss how to restore confidence in GCET. I am confident we will learn from this and ultimately emerge stronger.

I am sharing this because I felt it was important to provide another voice. At this time, I will not be responding to individual questions. The GCET team will continue to provide updates via Facebook and email. The board will have more to share once service is restored and we have had the opportunity to fully review these past several days.

Thank you for supporting your community-owned internet service provider.

Tim Farrell

*Internet Outage Update*

We have continued to work to restore service while we wait for our replacement router to arrive. We have instituted a short-term partial fix that should allow an additional 600 customers to reconnect. Due to the nature of the hardware fault, we are not able to direct or determine which customers will reconnect. Please check your service to see if you have reconnected. In addition to our earlier work, this will mean we have reconnected almost half of our customers. We will continue to look for additional workarounds, and we are still on track to have our replacement equipment arrive tomorrow.

We truly appreciate your patience during what we understand is a difficult and frustrating time.

Good morning
GCET personnel worked late into the evening last night and have been working since early this morning. Public safety, schools and other city services have been restored. However, the majority of customers are still down. We continue to work on the problem and make progress. We will have more updates for you later this morning .