GILBERT, Ariz. — When Don Prather learned his Gilbert neighborhood was getting high-speed internet through fiber optic, he was excited. That changed when he saw how it was installed.
“It’s a bit of a mess still," Prather said.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
Outside his home near Greenfield and Warner roads, is about six feet of exposed cable that is supposed to be buried. Prather said it's been like this for months.
“It’s very frustrating," Prather said. "It’s dangerous and unsightly and we just would like to get it fixed the right way.”
Prather said the exposed line happened after a worker came out to "fix" the problem. Before, he said the cable was laid across his driveway. Every time he and his partner drove in or out of their garage they would run over it. The fix was duct tape and caulking the wire down on the driveway.
“It’s definitely not good quality work,” Prather said.
The homeowner pointed out that the caulk started to deteriorate exposing the wire once again.
“We were worried about families and kids tripping over it," he said.
Making matters more frustrating for Prather, is he's called the provider three times to get the line buried. He said for one of those calls, he received an email that said the matter was fixed and the line was buried. Prather then walked outside to see that wasn't the case.
The fiber plan was approved and permitted by the Town of Gilbert in an effort to deliver residents high-speed internet. Records show the company working with Gilbert is called Gigapower, an AT&T venture. Signage in another neighborhood shows a company called Tilson was conducting the construction work on Gigapower's behalf. Prather said it was Tilson workers who installed the line in his neighborhood.
“It’s definitely not acceptable," Prather said.
12News reached out to Tilson for comment and received a statement from Gigapower that wrote:
"We make every effort to establish permanent drops for fiber connectivity with every installation. In some cases, a temporary drop is established and will be buried thereafter. If the customer requires maintenance on their installation, please encourage them to reach out directly to their provider to support scheduling a maintenance request."
This isn't the only issue homeowners have experienced with installation.
Another family said their home flooded with sewage after they claim a Tilson worker drilled into the sewage line while installing the fiber optic cable outside. The family has been forced to live somewhere else.
For Prather, he said if crews can't fix the problem, he may just have to bury the cable himself.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
More ways to get 12News
On your phone: Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
On your streaming device: Download 12News+ to your streaming device
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.