Georgetown

Construction Mishap Leaves Georgetown Residents Without Phone Service

One 90-year-old resident tells News4 she wouldn't have a way to call 911

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Some businesses and residents in Georgetown have been without phone service for more than a week.

The phones in question use the old-fashioned landline phones, which can be used for both making calls and sending transactions from credit card machines.

Residents in the Northwest D.C. neighborhood told News4 they are frustrated they can't get answers as to when they'll be able to make calls again.

Sophia Henry and her late husband set up the telephone account at their Glover Park home in 1967. She has no desire for a cellphone.

At 90, Henry uses her same landline phone number to stay in contact with family, friends and healthcare providers. 

Until Dec. 2 — The day the dial tone died, her daughter said.

"She can't call 911 if something happens. If she's alone, and she falls, she can't call me, she can't call the neighbors," Ariadne Henry said. "That's the real frustration."

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Verizon confirms a contractor working on the 31st Street Bridge project in Georgetown inadvertently cut a bank of conduits containing phone cables

The company says repair work has been going on around the clock but would not say how many landline customers are affected. 

Ariadne Henry says she's also had difficulties with Verizon's efforts to provide temporary wireless service because her mother does not manage her account online. She tried to log on to set up cell service, but couldn't get it up and running.

She wonders how many others might be in a similar situation.

Some businesses tell us they have had their landline phone service restored, but others say it's still out.

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