Underwood, MN – Park Region experienced a significant network outage on September 29 that affected phone and internet service for some customers and video service for all customers.
The outage occurred following scheduled maintenance on one of Park Region’s two redundant core network routers. The maintenance involved manufacturer-recommended software updates and was intentionally performed on only one router so the second router could remain in service and maintain network redundancy.
During the maintenance, the router being updated experienced a serious malfunction. As Park Region’s Network Engineering team worked with the equipment manufacturer and outside engineering resources to address the issue, the redundant router began experiencing problems of its own, resulting in the broader service disruption.
Park Region says it immediately mobilized internal and external technical resources and brought replacement equipment into service. Services began returning at approximately 3:00 p.m., and all services were fully restored by approximately 9:30 p.m.
“We know how much our customers depend on these services every day, and an outage of this duration is not acceptable to us,” said Dave Bickett, GM/CEO of Park Region. “We sincerely apologize to our customers for the disruption. We are grateful for their patience and understanding, and I am extremely proud of our employees and technical partners who stayed focused on restoring service until the job was done.”
Throughout the outage, Park Region employees remained on site answering customer calls, providing information and working alongside technical teams to restore service. Many employees worked between 12 and 24 hours during the response.
Park Region continues to work with the equipment manufacturer and outside engineering resources to fully understand the circumstances that caused both layers of network redundancy to be affected. The company is also evaluating options to add a third layer of redundancy to further protect customers from a similar service disruption in the future.
“Being local means more than having an office in the communities we serve,” Bickett added. “It means being here when there is a problem, answering the phone and staying with it until the problem is resolved. That is the commitment we make to our customers.”
Park Region thanks its customers for their patience and understanding throughout the outage and recognizes the employees and technical partners who worked tirelessly to restore service.
Story courtesy of Park Region.
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