Phones go down at businesses in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley.
Cox Communications told 5NEWS they are not sure when the problem will be fixed.
Lunch time at River City Deli in Fort Smith was quiet Tuesday.
“It wasn't until maybe 1:30 p.m. when the phone had been silent all through lunch that we realized something was wrong,” said Susan Tucker, owner.
Tucker says their phone is not working.
Cox Communications confirms businesses in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Ohio and New England are also experiencing phone outages.
“The lines are busy,” said Tucker. “I tried to call out. You just get a busy signal no matter who you call, so it's hurt us quite a bit.”
A company spokesperson says they first noticed the issue around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Cox Communications Director of Public Affairs Kelly Hale Zega told 5NEWS there is a problem with “voice manager.” It is the product they use for business phones.
“We are continuing to work hard to resolve the outage for all business customers,” said Zega in a written statement.
When customers call businesses affected by the outage they will hear a pre-recorded voice message. The message says, “We’re sorry due to telephone company facility trouble your call cannot be completed at this time.”
Tucker took action. She posted a cell phone number on the deli’s Facebook page, so people can call in their orders.
“I just wanted to know if they wanted to order they had a number to order,” said Tucker.
A Cox Communications spokesperson says the outage does not affect residential customers.
“We are continuing to work diligently to resolve the outage for all business customers,” said Zega in a written statement. “We will continue to provide regular updates to our customers as we work to restore service.”
Cox Communications says they are beginning to restore calls for some of the affected businesses, but could not tell 5NEWS when everything will be fixed.