Cablevision: Service back for more than half of NY customers

Cablevision Systems Corp. said Thursday that service had been restored to more than half of its 3.3 million Optimum Internet, phone and television customers in the New York area.

More than 99 percent  of the 1.5 million Optimum customers without service on Long Island, New York City, Connecticut, New Jersey and the lower Hudson Valley do not have electricity. The Bethpage-based company urged customers whose electricity has been restored but are still without cable, phone or Internet service to alert the company.

“Cablevision crews are in the field and working to restore service as quickly as possible after the return of power. We will continue to provide updates for our customers on Optimum.net,” Cablevision said in a statement.

All but one of Cablevision’s 64 transmission facilities in the metropolitan area are operational. The company’s facility in Seaside, N.J., remains out of service.

Customers without Internet service at home can also access the web via more 28,000 Optimum Wi-Fi hot spots at train stations, parks and commercial hubs throughout the metropolitan area.

On Wednesday, Thomas Eagan, an analyst for the Canadian investment bank Canaccord Genuity, estimated the storm could cost Cablevision between $25 million and $40 million. A company spokesman declined to comment on the report.