(Downdetector.com)

A significant number of Comcast Business Voice customers have been without phone service since 8:00am this morning, disrupting operations and forcing many companies to use social media to offer up alternative cell phone numbers for customers wishing to call.

“Some Comcast Business customers may be experiencing issues with their Business Voice service,” said Jennifer Bilotta, vice president of communications for Comcast in a terse statement. “We are working to restore service to these customers as soon as possible. We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work to resolve the issue and will provide additional updates as they are available.”

A survey of social media and news reports shows the largest outages are affecting customers in the northeast, California, Florida, Georgia, Chicago, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest.

An unconfirmed report suggested the outage would be over by around 5:00pm EDT.