DirecTV fixes satellite problem that was causing outages for Iowa customers

DirecTV says it has fixed a satellite problem that has plagued some of its Iowa customers in recent days.

“Following a space event, our team of engineers and rocket scientists repositioned the satellite and have successfully restored all channels," DirecTV said in a prepared statement Wednesday.

Many satellite customers trying to tune in for their favorite programs on DirecTV in the past couple of days have encountered “error code 771,” meaning their dish was having trouble communicating with the satellite.

DirecTV had issued an earlier statement that it was working to resolve a satellite positioning issue causing temporary outages for HD channels.

The DirecTV snafu comes on the heels of an outage for AT&T mobile customers last week affecting more than 70,000 users and resulting in the company offering $5 refunds to affected customers. AT&T, which owns 70% of DirecTV, indicated the cell phone outage was caused by “an internal application and execution of an incorrect process” being used to expand its network, according to a statement on AT&T’s website.

DirecTV has about 12.4 million customers, but in recent years, like other pay-TV providers, it has seen its numbers dwindle in the face of competition from streaming networks

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: DirecTV back online in Iowa after satellite fix