Nebraska Public Service Commission closes investigation into Lumen’s 911 outages

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Nebraska Public Service Commission closed its investigation Tuesday into a trio of 911 outages involving Lumen.

The telecommunications carrier experienced outages on Aug. 31, 2023, and April 27 and July 9, 2024, impacting 911 services across Nebraska.

Commission Chair Tim Schram said in a press release that the state expects its 911 system to be available “99.999 percent” of the time.

The investigation and hearings led the commission to find that Lumen’s “level of performance was not acceptable for Nebraska’s 911 system,” officials say.

“While Lumen has engaged in substantial work to improve its network, the carrier’s lack of redundancy and diversity remains a concern,” Schram said.

In hopes of improving the state’s 911 system, a consultant will conduct an “independent verification and validation” of Lumen’s newest 911 system.

David Sankey, the State 911 Department director, said the 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.”