The Nebraska Public Service Commission has approved an Order (911-075/PI-248, 911-077/C-5581/PI-252) closing its investigation and issuing its findings into three separate 911 outages/disruptions involving telecommunications carrier Lumen.
The three separate Lumen outages/disruptions occurred on August 31, 2023, April 17 & July 9, 2024, impacting 911 service over a wide area of Lumens’ Nebraska network.
“Lumen guaranteed, and we expect Nebraska’s 911 system to be available 99.999 percent (five-nines) of the time, and that didn’t happen,” said Commission Chair Tim Schram.
Through its investigation and hearings, the Commission finds that Lumen’s level of performance was not acceptable for Nebraska’s 911 system and that the carrier failed to meet the level of service provided within its state contract.
Commission Chair Schram said, “While Lumen has engaged in substantial work to improve its network, the carrier’s lack of redundancy and diversity remains a concern.”
The Commission directed the State 911 Department to identify potential changes to the state’s current 911 system. To support the process, Commission consultant 911 Authority will conduct an independent verification and validation of the Next Generation 911 system provided by Lumen.
State 911 Department Director, David Sankey said, “This independent testing is important to determine whether Lumen is capable of fulfilling its contractual obligations to provide the level of service the Commission expects and demands moving forward.”
Additional information to include the Order can be found on the PSC website at <https://psc.nebraska.gov/lumen-affiliates-911-outage-investigation >.