Fiber Issue Affecting City Phones and Internet

CITY OF GREAT FALLS, MONTANA

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE:             January 6, 2026

CONTACT:     Meredith Dawson, City Communications Specialist – 406-455-8496, mdawson@greatfallsmt.gov

FIBER ISSUE AFFECTING CITY PHONES AND INTERNET

*Update at 10:00am on January 9, 2026: All phones appear to be operating normally.*

*Update at 12:00pm on January 7, 2026: After a period of working normally, our phones are now experiencing some instability (not a complete outage like before). Our provider has identified additional fiber damage and is working on additional repairs.*

*Update as of 9:40am on January 7, 2026: The City's phones and internet are now operating normally.*

Great Falls, Montana – The City of Great Falls is currently experiencing an outage impacting its primary internet connection and telephone system. The issue appears to be caused by an out-of-state fiber cut that’s affecting businesses and organizations across Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.

The City is operating on its backup internet connection, so slowness while accessing internet-related services can be expected. The online utility billing portal is also being affected at this time. Please use this contact form if you need to get in touch with a City employee while City phones are being affected. If a call needs to be made to the 911 Dispatch Center’s non-emergency number, please use the following: 406-454-6979. Calls made to 911 are not affected.

City staff are actively tracking the situation and are working with the service provider to restore services as quickly as possible. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

The City appreciates the public’s patience and understanding while this issue is being resolved.

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