A broken fiber optic cable has interrupted phone service for parts of Fort Dodge.

According to Phyllis Peters, a spokeswoman for Mediacom Communications, a contractor who is not doing work for Mediacom was setting up new utility poles north of Mallard. While the pole was being installed, it severed the underground fiber optic cable, she said.

The cable was damaged at 11:05 a.m., Peters reported.

Between 5,000 and 10,000 customers have been impacted. Customers in Webster City, Fort Dodge, Clarion, Humboldt, Belmond, and Gilmore City, may have been affected.

Peters believes service will be restored by 6 p.m. Wednesday.