Bell Aliant technicians are making progress restoring communication services to a large area of the north coast of Labrador that has been hit by poor weather.

People in Cartwright have long distance telephone service back, but communities from Rigolet north to Nain are still limited to local calls.

People in eight communities lost long distance services Wednesday because of heavy ice that coated isolated communications towers. That also reduced cell phone and internet access in other parts of Labrador.

Bell Aliant spokesperson Isabelle Robinson told CBC News that technicians have already solved some of the problems by rerouting services.

"Customers should also notice some improvements with their internet service which has been coming back up since yesterday," she said. "And further progress is that cell service has been restored."

Robinson said a repair crew was flying by helicopter Thursday morning to a remote radio tower site called Double Mer.

She said once they arrive and have a look at the ice buildup, Aliant would have a better idea of how long it would take to restore complete services.