Spectrum upgrades could impact service for some Rochester-area customers. What to know

Some Spectrum customers will temporarily lose overnight access to 911 in the Rochester area over a nine-day period as the company undergoes upgrades.

Messages were sent out to some customers in the town of Brighton Wednesday, notifying them of potential service disruptions between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., beginning Wednesday, Feb. 7.

However, those with cell phones will still be able to call emergency services during this time.

"These temporary service interruptions are necessary to complete network upgrades enabling symmetrical and multi-gigabit broadband speeds in the future across our entire local service area," a Spectrum representative said in a written statement Wednesday. "We intentionally schedule this work during overnight hours to minimize its impact, and we appreciate customers’ patience while we complete these vital upgrades."

What to know about the upgrade, potential service disruption

Spectrum is upgrading the network "to provide faster internet speeds and the highest quality services," according to a letter sent to customers Wednesday.

While the outage will go on for nine days, it is unlikely that individual customers will experience a drop in service for more than one night.

For Spectrum Voice customers, access to 911 will be unavailable during the overnight maintenance hours. In the letter, Spectrum recommended those affected to have a charged cell phone nearby in case of emergency.

Customers won't have to take any actions as the upgrade will take place automatically and full service will be restored after the upgrade is complete.

Emily Barnes is the New York State Team consumer advocate reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Barnes at ebarnes@gannett.com or on Twitter @byemilybarnes.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Spectrum upgrades could impact service in Rochester NY.