Internet and cable outages reported as WOW services convert to new company

A Midco sign is in place outside Riverfront Plaza, Tuesday evening, June 27, 2017, after workers removed WOW signs, at bottom, from the company's properties.

UPDATE:

The overnight conversion from WOW cable, telecom and internet services to Midco is causing some outages in the Lawrence area.

“We are experiencing some challenges but we are troubleshooting right now,” said Midco spokeswoman Paige Pearson Meyer.

Customers were posting on social media about problems with their services. Many of those reports involved a lack of internet and cable services.

Meyer said the outages weren’t entirely surprising with the scale of the conversion. As part of its purchase of WOW, Midco is taking on more than 30,000 cable, telecom and internet customers in Douglas, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties.

Meyer provided the following information via email.

“There’s no doubt the transition has been bumpier this morning than we had hoped. A lot of advance planning was done and this is not our first acquisition, but each one presents its own challenges. We are working to identify customers without service and resolve issues as quickly as possible. Our quickest way to reach customers is through social media updates–so we ask that customers please look for those on Facebook and Twitter throughout the day.”

The sale of WOW to Midco was announced in October, and the acquisition was finalized in January. The conversion from WOW to Midco was expected to occur Wednesday from midnight to 6 a.m.

About 2 p.m., Midco provided the following update on its website:

Midco statement

A status update for KS customers: We’re making progress in bringing more customers back online for internet and cable TV service; however, not everyone is back online yet. We continue to work on resolving the situation for all customers, and again apologize for the great inconvenience this causes you.

• Internet customers: If you aren’t able to access the internet, please try again to reset your modem (and a router if you have one) If your services are not restored, please contact us.

• Cable TV: Please check your TV’s on-screen guide. If your guide shows a Midco logo and you don’t have all your channels, please contact us. If you see a WOW! logo on your on-screen guide, we also encourage you to contact us.

• We offer support options via social media, secure online chat at Midco.com/Contact, and 1.800.888.1300.

We are as eager as you to resolve these issues. Please know that it is sincerely our goal to bring you a great customer experience – with your services, technology and support.

Midco support can be reached by phone at 1-800-888-1300, on Twitter at @Midcontinent, on Facebook at MidcontinentCommunications, or via chat on its website, midco.com/contact.

Check back with this report for more information.


Original story

The final changeover from WOW cable, telecom and internet services to Midco will be complete by early Wednesday morning.

Midco spokeswoman Paige Pearson Meyer said customers’ services aren’t expected to be affected by the conversion, which will occur Wednesday from midnight to 6 a.m.

“We don’t expect (a service disruption); we certainly hope that there is not one,” Meyer said.

If customers do have service issues, Midco recommends that customers restart their equipment. If problems continue, customers can contact Midco at 1-800-888-1300 or Midco.com/Contact.

Customers’ services and pricing won’t change as part of the conversion unless requested, Meyer said.

“Customers won’t experience any service changes when they officially change over to our services (Wednesday) and service pricing will not change unless customers change their level of service,” Meyer said.

She said customers who want to change or add services can do so anytime before or after the conversion. Once customers register their account online, service options and prices for Midco’s new Kansas customers are available on Midco’s website.

The sale of WOW to Midco was announced in October, and the acquisition was finalized in January. As part of its purchase of WOW, Midco is taking on more than 30,000 cable, telecom and internet customers in Douglas, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties.

“We’re so excited and really looking forward to putting our roots down in Lawrence,” Meyer said.

For now, Midco’s customer service center will continue to be located in the Riverfront Plaza in downtown Lawrence. Meyer said Midco is still in the process of negotiating a lease for its new location near the intersection of South Iowa Street and West 31st Street.

Last month, Midco announced that it will discontinue Channel 6, 6News and its associated news website and expand Midco’s own sports network in Lawrence. Meyer said Channel 6 will continue as is until early August, after which the station will be repurposed for the sports network.