The Multistate 911 outage now has experts reportedly calling to revamp the emergency hotline's systems after it went out due to an unrelated light pole installation. For almost 2½ hours, millions in many states were unable to contact authorities in case of an emergency.
Lumen Technologies, a Louisiana-based telecommunications business, stated on Thursday that certain customers in South Dakota, Nevada, and Nebraska experienced an outage as a result of a third-party company building a light pole unrelated to its services.
Harold Feld, senior vice president of Public Knowledge, a nonprofit group centered on championing internet legislation, affordable communication tools, and others, believes a single pole should not be allowed to disable 911 in numerous states. He contends that a life-sustaining system cannot be reduced to a single fiber strand.
(Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images) A Tesla vehicle was seen damaged by a collision on February 01, 2023, in Austin, Texas. A winter storm is sweeping across portions of Texas, causing massive power outages and disruptions of highways and roads.
Power was reported out across Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, and Texas and looked to be restored in the late evening; however, it was unclear whether all of the outages were related to Lumen.
Brian Fontes, CEO of NENA The 9-1-1 Association, a nonprofit organization that focuses on 911 operations and policy concerns, also commented, claiming that the interruption emphasizes the reality that the country's 9-1-1 systems are important telecommunications services that require urgent updates.
Fontes, echoing Feld's concerns, points out that 911 should not be inaccessible over large areas due to a problem on one light post.
According to Simpson, 911 service providers such as Lumen Technologies must examine their 911 circuits on an annual basis and formally attest to the FCC that all 911 answering points have circuit diversity, remote monitoring, and power backup for any unstaffed circuit machinery.
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Multiple Reasons Behind the 911 Outage
Reports indicate that Lumen Technologies is still unclear whether it is the sole reason for the Multistate 911 outage, with causes varying across affected areas.
In Texas, the City of Del Rio Police Department attributed the problem to a severe cellular carrier outage, notably T-Mobile. Juan Hernandez, the department's communications supervisor, stressed that the issue was with T-Mobile's coverage rather than an internal 911 system malfunction.
Similarly, Nebraska's Chase County Sheriff's Office reported that 911 services were unavailable nationwide except for T-Mobile subscribers, with landlines still operational. Lumen, a worldwide communications services company, confirmed that the outage in Douglas County, Nebraska, was caused by a fiber break.
AT&T Affects 911
While affirming regular network functioning, AT&T noted a problem with another carrier's network that might impair 911 calls. The business emphasized that the outage was unconnected to FirstNet, the countrywide broadband network for public safety supervised by the First Responder Network Authority.
The authorities are still investigating the latest breakdown to prevent future interruptions and safeguard the dependability of emergency communication services. Residents are asked to be cautious and familiar with alternative emergency contacts during such incidents.
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