FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PSC RESOLVES COMPLAINT APPROVES
REMEDIATION PLAN FOR WINDSTREAM
Lincoln, October 16, 2024- The Nebraska Public Service
Commission (PSC) has issued an Order (911-078/DC-
104/C-5596) approving a stipulated agreement with
Windstream and dismissing the department complaint
against the telecommunication carrier concerning three
separate 911outages/disruptions.
“Through this agreement Windstream has committed to
improving public safety communications by investing
more than one million dollars into its network reliability
and diversity, ”said Commission Chair Dan Watermeier.
“ The agreement provides for civil penalties if
Windstream does not complete the agreed upon
enhancements and improvements by the end of 2025.”
The agreement includes a 911 Remediation Plan, in which
Windstream has agreed, among other improvements to:
- Enhance its back up systems to address power outages.
- Provide an additional layer of reliability and protection
against outages by adding a new network path. This
additional path creates three separate network paths for
traffic into and out of Nebraska. This third path has the
capacity to carry all of Windstream’s traffic in Nebraska
should the other two paths go down and repairs need to
be made.
- Engage a third-party auditor to complete a system
reliability and engineering review of its Nebraska network.
The stipulated agreement follows an investigation involving
three separate Windstream service disruptions which
occurred on September 2 & 3, November 28, 2023, and
January 13, 2024. As part of its investigation the Commission
conducted data requests, held a public hearing, and sought
analysis from outside experts on network infrastructure
specifically in the area of 911 network requirements. As a
result of the investigation a complaint was filed by the State
911 department. The department complaint resulted in the
stipulated agreement and the remediation plan approved
by the Commission.
Commissioner Watermeier said, “The Commission and the
public demand accountability from our telecommunications
carriers. While we appreciate Windstream’s willingness to
work with us, we will continue to monitor the company’s
progress to confirm that it is complying with the agreement.”
With the Order dismissing the complaint and approving the
stipulated agreement, a hearing will not be held. A copy of
the Order as well as the Remediation Plan can be found on
the PSC website at <https://psc.nebraska.gov/state-911/
windstream-911-outage-investigation >. ###
Contact:
Deb Collins- Communications & Media Mgr.
(402) 471-0226
deb.collins@nebraska.gov
