Cable, phone and internet provider Metrocast, has been experiencing interruptions in service throughout the Starkville community.
Last week, Starkville and surrounding area residents experienced delays in cable, phone and internet service that lasted up to a day and a half. The interruption was caused by a Prairie Sanitation garbage truck that cut a fiber line owned by Metrocast. The accident occurred when the vehicle did not have the top part of the truck down, cutting the line. The incident was along Hwy. 15 between Pontotoc and Starkville. Crews went out immediately after they realized what caused the interruption in the two locations that were some 35 miles apart.
David McGuffey, junior psychology major and Madison, Miss. native, said he has been using Metrocast since the fall of 2012. 
“As far as cable, the picture would sometimes get buggy, not picking up channels very well, and become pixelated.” McGuffey said.  
Even during his internet troubles, McGuffey said Metrocast instructed him to disconnect his router and modem and reconnect it.
“Sophomore and freshman year, the internet went out quite a bit,” McGuffey said. “I would call them after waiting a while, but the Internet support wasn’t very helpful sometimes.”
In searching for an alternative service provider, McGuffey said he discovered that Metrocast offers better prices than competitors.
“Metrocast remains to provide the better price,” he said. “The internet is not bad. It is actually fast internet, but the signal sometimes is unreliable.”
Will Whittenton, a senior finance major from Forest City, Ark., is a new Metrocast customer and said he has not experienced any problems using Metrocast. Whittenton did mention the interruption early last week which he noticed late Tuesday night, that continued throughout Wednesday evening.
After calling customer service, he was informed of an interruption from an automated recording. Metrocast stated that they were aware of the issue and the technicians were working to address the problem. 
After having his service disconnected for a prolonged period of time, Whittenton said he felt as if the issues were external.
“I thought someone had cut a cord somewhere. I knew it just wasn’t Starkville,” he said. 
Metrocast, which remains to be a dominant provider in Starkville, strives to be the provider of choice for college students and residents of the Starkville and surrounding communities. 
A female Metrocast representative, who requested to remain anonymous, expressed that this is not a normal instance for their service interruptions. “We don’t like to see things like this happen,” she said. “But I’m glad to see the customers in Starkville happy with our service.”