UPDATE - No General Store on CFRY at 1:10pm 

Bell MTS released this update to our newsroom at 1:00pm Thursday: Internet, TV, and landline telephone services have been disrupted for some customers in the Portage la Prairie area due to multiple cables damaged by a third party. Our crews continue to work as quickly as possible to restore all services. Any customers with service issues can contact us at 204-225-5687 so we can assist.

------------------------------------

Wednesday evening

It may be a quiet night for many Bell MTS customers in Portage la Prairie. Service has been out in a large part of the community since around lunch. Portageonline news has been told a service cable has been cut and that's the cause of the problem. There has been no word given on how the line was damaged, however Bell MTS service crews have been working this eveining on Saskatchewan Avenue near PCI where digging and construction have been taking place. Whatever the cause, the end result is that many of their services have not been working. 

Many businesses that are clients of the company have been unable to use debit machines, so it has been cash only at numerous places today. Plenty of residential ph one lines are dead while some of their other services have been reported down as well, although it's not clear which ones. The company has several thousand internet, television and mobile customers in the area. 

Bell MTS is working on the issue and hopes to fix the problem as quickly as possible. There has been no estimate given as to how long that may take.

Because of the issue, phone lines are also down at the Golden West studios and office. The General Store, a live call in show on CFRY each afternoon, was unable to go to air. After some scrambling, the Portage Terrier broadcast did hit the airwaves as internet services were available at Stride Place and that avenue was used to get the game on air.