Fiber cut affecting S. Illinois NewWave customers

From NewWave Communications comes word this afternoon that a damaged fiber optic line is affecting service for some of its customers in Southern Illinois.

Affected communities include Carmi, Grayville, Albion, McLeansboro, Valier, Sesser, Fairfield, Benton, Christopher, Buckner, Pinckneyville, Tamaroa, and Du Quoin.

"We are working on this as fast as we can to correct this outage," the company said on its Facebook page.

Time Warner Cable takes over cable service in Hopkins and Ohio counties

It's Feb. 1, the start of a new month and a new era for cable customers in two Tri-State counties.

Time Warner Cable has officially taken over the cable systems from NewWave Communications in Hopkins and Ohio counties in Western Kentucky, as well as elsewhere in Kentucky and Tennessee. Eventually, that means changes are coming, but for now, not much other than the name of your provider will change. Here's what you need to know (courtesy of TWC):

In the short-term, you will see limited changes to your services as the company works to implement technical upgrades to bring you all that Time Warner Cable has to offer. Any changes to services or equipment will happen gradually and with ample notice. Soon, you'll notice these changes:

• An enhanced on-screen guide with additional search options to make it even easier to find your favorite shows.
• Even more HD programming will be added to the current HD lineup.
• Where On Demand is currently available, Primetime On Demand programming from NBC and Fox will be added.

 New features to be added later include:

• The TWC TV app for iPad, which will allow you to view more than 100 channels of live TV programming right on your device – anywhere in your home.
• Start Over allows you to restart a show already in progress with the press of a button.
• Look Back lets you watch primetime shows up to 72 hours later – even without setting your DVR.

The transition to Time Warner Cable will not result in a change to your bill. Prices for the services you now have will be reviewed and updated periodically, as you’ve experienced in the past. In addition, you can pay your bill the same ways as before: by mail, in-person at one of the payment center locations or by credit card over the phone or online. And, for now, if you pay by check, you can write it to NewWave or Time Warner Cable.

The equipment you currently have in your home for your cable, internet and phone service will continue to work. You don't need to change anything now. Eventually, internet customers will be transitioned to new email addresses and login credentials, but the company will give you plenty of notice ahead of time, as well as assistance in making those changes.

If you have questions or need assistance, Time Warner Cable's customer service is available 24/7 by calling 1-855-821-7018.

Oh, and if you haven't seen them yet, the new channel lineups are available:

• Click here if you live in Hopkins County
• Click here if you live in Ohio County

NewWave to customers: Those emails aren't from us

Some NewWave Communications customers have been getting email messages in recent days asking them to provide the company with their username and password.

There's just one problem with that: The company didn't send them.

"[T]hose emails are spam," the company told its followers on Facebook this morning. "[W]e would never ask for that information because we already have it."   NewWave advises its customers to delete the emails and not reply to them.

NewWave Communications, which is based in Sikeston, Mo., serves a number of communities in Southeastern Illinois and Southwestern Indiana.