MIAMI.- Several police agencies in the United States reported failures that affected the 911 emergency call services due to the installation of a light pole, a company official in charge of fiber optic lines said Thursday.
Outages were reported Wednesday night in Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota and Texas. Service was restored Thursday morning in all four states.
Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other agencies were investigating, the outages in Nevada, South Dakota and Nebraska were due to a cut fiber line “due to an outside company installing a light pole, unrelated to our service,” Mark Molzen, director of global issues for Lumen Technologies, said in an email to The Associated Press. Service was restored in two and a half hours, he said.
“We are aware of reports of outages related to 911 and are currently investigating,” the FCC said in a statement posted on the social network X. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which manages the Program National 911 said in a statement that its Office of Emergency Medical Services “is monitoring the matter.”
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety said in a statement posted to social media Wednesday night that it was aware of a statewide outage of 911 service.
The agency noted that texting to 911 was working in most places and that people could still contact local authorities through non-emergency lines. Less than two hours later, the agency said service was restored to the state’s 911 system.
That same night, the 911 emergency service of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department warned through social networks about a suspension that affected the 911 service and non-emergency calls. Calls from landlines were not working, but authorities indicated they could see the numbers of those calling from cell phones.
“Please dial on a mobile device and we can see your number and call you right back,” the department posted.
Approximately two hours later, the department posted that service had been restored and that everyone who called during the outage had been contacted again by phone and provided assistance.
Source: AP
