FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PSC CLOSES 911 WINDSTREAM INVESTIGATION
OPENS NEW COMPLAINT
Lincoln, July 9, 2024- The Nebraska Public Service
Commission has issued an Order (911-076/PI-249)
closing its investigation into three separate 911
outages involving Windstream and opening a new
department complaint (911-078/DC-104/C-5596)
against the telecommunications carrier.
“Through our investigation we have determined that
violations of Commission regulations may have occurred,
” said Commission Chair Dan Watermeier. “The complaint,
provides the Commission the ability to hold the carrier
accountable through punitive actions.”
The investigation involved three separate Windstream
service disruptions which occurred on September 2 & 3,
November 28, 2023, and January 13, 2024. As a part of
its investigation the Commission conducted data requests,
held a public hearing, and sought analysis from an outside
expert on network infrastructure specifically in the area of
911 network requirements. The process led the Commission
to determine there is sufficient information to consider
whether violations of 291 Neb. Admin. Code §§ 5-002.02D,
5-002.03A have occurred.
“Our investigation confirmed that during the outages the
ESInet and Core Services which are key components of the
Next Generation 911 system remained fully functional,”
said Dave Sankey, PSC 911 Department Director. “It was
the ability of the carrier to deliver the calls to the
interconnection points that was impacted.”
The department complaint process allows the Commission
the opportunity to asserts its authority under Nebraska law
to issue punitive sanctions which may include assessing
administrative fines for violation of Commission regulations.
A hearing date on the Windstream complaint has been
scheduled for August 27 & 28.
Commissioner Watermeier said, “The Commission and the
public must have accountability from our telecommunications
carriers in providing a redundant system capable of delivering
911 calls no matter the situation.” ###
Contact: Deb Collins- Communications & Media Mgr.
(402) 471-0226 /deb.collins@nebraska.gov
