Mediacomis reporting the cold could impact cable reception for some homes and businesses.

Mediacom Communications Director Phyllis Peters says there are numerous outages in the Iowa, Missouri and Illinois area but no widespread network issues.

Peters says that is likely because of the cold causing isolated problems at area stations or home connections, only affecting a couple customers at a time. She says the severely cold weather causes a contraction of the lining that is around the strands of fiber. When the lining contracts, it presses on the fiber and degrades or temporarily stops the signals from passing over the fiber.

In many cases Peters says, the issues ease up and end when temperatures rise a bit, or even when the sun is in a position to be helpful. But, these recent days show no hope of temperatures moving upward.