Some Oklahomans Still Without Internet 2 Weeks After Historic Ice Storms

It's been two weeks since Oklahoma was impacted by the historic October ice storms. Power has been restored to most customers in the Oklahoma City metro, but for some, just because there's power, doesn't mean there's Internet.

“Not having Wi-Fi, this limits so many people in their day to day jobs,” said Conner Davey, an Oklahoma City resident.

Several days after ice and heavy winds swept through the state, many are still feeling its effects, with hundreds of Oklahomans still without Internet. 

John Sinesh works from home and his kids take their classes online. Their Internet was restored Sunday night after 13 days.

“Not being able to have Internet for two weeks kind of puts both of us, my kids and myself in a bind,” said Sinesh. “So, it's very frustrating.”

Cox Communications said they're working as quickly and safely as possible to restore Internet access. They said the areas that remain without service are more individual homes rather than entire neighborhoods. They've dealt with a variety of obstacles from fallen trees to broken equipment.

“My every day is rollover, check my Wi-Fi, see if it was on, wasn't on, message my manager,” said Sinesh.

Officials with Cox said they've never seen a storm with this much widespread damage. In a statement, they said:

"We have more than double our workforce and brought in crews from other states to help get the remaining customers back online."

Cox also said they're unable to access some areas until power is restored.

Davey is one of those still without power and said more time without Internet, means less time getting his work done.

“Everything's on Zoom, and without Wi-Fi, there's no Zoom, and so now, I’m having to make other plans,” said Davey.

Representatives from Cox said there is no exact timeline on restoring Wi-Fi, but they're working as quickly as possible.