Nebraska’s Public Service Commission formally opened investigations into the state’s two largest telecommunications providers Tuesday over their role in separate disruptions to 911 services in Southeast Nebraska in late August and early September.
Commissioners voted 5-0 at their regular meeting Tuesday to launch the separate investigations into Lumen and Windstream, the providers at the center of the outages, one of which disrupted 911 phone service for nearly 60% of the 911 centers in Nebraska from the night of Aug. 31 to the morning of Sept. 1.
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“The commission takes 911 matters seriously,” said Tim Schram, the District 3 commissioner who represents Sarpy, Saunders and western Douglas counties on the body that regulates telecommunications carriers and oversees the State 911 department, among other duties.
“These investigations must provide answers,” Schram said at Tuesday’s meeting in downtown Lincoln, where the longtime commissioner thanked 911 dispatchers for working through the outages and the state’s news outlets for keeping the public updated.
The first of the outages — which were unrelated but happened within days of each other — came at around 7 p.m. Aug. 31 when a contractor cut a cable in the Omaha area owned by Lumen, leaving 41 of Nebraska’s 68 emergency communications centers unable to receive 911 calls, including Douglas and Sarpy counties, two of the state’s three most populous counties.
During the outage, which lasted about 12 hours, callers who dialed 911 in the affected area received a busy signal and calls weren’t delivered to 911 call centers, the Public Service Commission said in a written order opening its investigation into Lumen.
The second outage started at around 6:30 p.m. Sept. 2 after a water leak and subsequent fire inside Windstream’s electrical control room the night before had shut off commercial power to the building, leaving an on-site generator to take over supporting the three switches in the provider’s Lincoln facility, according to a Windstream spokesman.
That generator failed sometime Sept. 2, forcing Windstream to resort to batteries to operate the three switches housed in the facility.
But the batteries dropped to “dangerously low voltage levels” Saturday evening, a spokesman said, prompting Windstream to shut down one of the three switches, interrupting services for customers that included at least four 911 service operators.
During the outage, calls to the affected 911 centers — 18 of the 20 centers connected to the Windstream system — were delivered either sporadically or not at all, the commission said in a written order opening a separate investigation into Windstream.
“Our initial question is: what happened in this case?” Dave Sankey, the director of the state 911 Department, said last week. “Where was the redundancy? Where was the diversity?”
The commission’s probe of the Lumen outage will focus on the cause of the outage and why it resulted in the loss of 911 service “to such a large area of Nebraska,” according to the order launching the investigation.
Commissioners are seeking “both an explanation of why the redundancy required of Lumen failed in this instance and a solution to prevent this from happening again,” according to the order.
The investigation into Windstream, meanwhile, will in part examine why a fire and loss of electrical power at a single Windstream facility resulted in a loss of 911 service “to a large portion of southeast Nebraska,” according to the written order.
The commission is also seeking the same explanation from Windstream that is is from Lumen: Why did required redundancies fail and how can future failure be prevented?
In both cases, investigators will also explore whether customers of each provider — including the 911 centers they serve — received timely notification of the outages.
Scott Morris, a spokesman for Windstream, said Tuesday that the Arkansas-based telecommunications company stands “ready to engage constructively with the Nebraska Public Service Commission as it undertakes the” investigation.
“We are committed to providing robust, reliable communications services to our customers, as technology continues to transform and reshape the way Nebraskans access economic opportunities, educational resources, medical care and entertainment,” Morris said in an email
Windstream has previously declined to answer specific questions about the service outage as the company conducts its own internal review of the incident.
Representatives for Lumen did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Stay with JournalStar.com for updates.
Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
Lincoln Southwest running back Ashton Traudt (2) runs the ball under defense by Columbus defensive end Caden Kapels (81) during the Silver Hawks’ game against Columbus on Friday at UBT Stadium at Lincoln Northwest. Southwest was leading 14-6 at halftime.
Seward local Garin Metzger (left) drives his pontoon boat on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023 at Branched Oak Lake in Lancaster County during the start of Labor Day weekend. Pictured with him is his wife Linda Metzger (center-right), and their friends Shanda Laflin (center-left) and Pam Spicher (right).
Nebraska’s Mikai Gbayor (42) celebrates with teammate Brian Buschini after he limited Minnesota to a short yardage after a kickoff return on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule points to the team during the first quarter against Minnesota on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Nebraska volleyball celebrates a 3-0 victory against Omaha on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, at Memorial Stadium during Volleyball Day in Nebraska.
Club team volleyball players, including Kenzie MacDonald of Omaha (left), 13, and her twin Kyra MacDonald, cheer during the final moments of the Nebraska volleyball match against Omaha on Wednesday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska head coach John Cook (left) takes the court with his team before taking on Omaha on Wednesday at Memorial Stadium.
Volleyball fans do the wave during a break in the action during the match between Omaha and Nebraska on Wednesday at Memorial Stadium.
Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez (8) and Merritt Beason (13) lead the team to the court before the match against Omaha on Wednesday at Memorial Stadium.
The glare from the sun hits the court causing players to be silhouetted against the floor during the second set Wednesday at Memorial Stadium.
Noah Snurr of Nebraska State Education Association (left) and Molly Gross of Nebraska Parent Teacher Association deliver boxes of signatures Wednesday from the Support our Schools Nebraska petition drive to the Secretary of State’s election office.
Cole Graham (center) and Scott Ryan (right) of Nebraska Sign Company set up the volleyball court at Memorial Stadium ahead of Volleyball Day in Nebraska, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.
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The U.S. Navy Blue Angels leave a smoke trail behind them as they perform aerial feats during the Guardians of Freedom Airshow at Lincoln Air Park on Saturday.
Spectators watch and photograph the U.S. Navy Blue Angels performing aerial feats over Lincoln’s Air Park during the Guardians of Freedom Airshow on Saturday. More than 340,000 people attended the two-day show.
An F-35C long-range stealth strike fighter flies just under the sound barrier during the Guardians of Freedom Airshow at Lincoln Air Park on Saturday.
Seth Avett, Scott Avett and Joe Kwon play onstage during a performance The Avett Brothers at Pinnacle Bank Arena , on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Lincoln.
Lincoln Lutheran’s Ryan Bokelmann holds the Spirit Sword high as he leads his team in celebration after the Warriors defeated Lincoln Christian on Friday at Aldrich Field.
Farrah Plate practices yoga on her paddleboard at Holmes Lake Park on Thursday. Lincoln topped 100 degrees for the fifth day in a row on Friday, when the city’s excessive heat warning expired. Relief is forecast on Saturday, where along with a chance of rain, the high is expected to be in the 80s. Those temps are to continue through Wednesday.
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Cornhusker Marching Band flag line member Alyssa Johnson, who is a reporting intern at the Lincoln Journal Star, twirls with her team during a routine on the field at the annual exhibition concert on Aug. 18, 2023, in Memorial Stadium at University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Lincoln Pius X’s Jack Schafers celebrates after he scores a touchdown in the first quarter against Lincoln Northwest on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, at Union Bank Stadium.
Lincoln Lutheran football players join hands in a pre-practice prayer before starting football practice at Lincoln Lutheran High School on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Lincoln.
Nova Trumler (left), 3, and Paxton Netsvetayer, 4, play as they build a house at Creative Minds Early Learning Center.
Asa Wegrzyn removes practice gear from a storage container before football practice at Lincoln Christian High School on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Lincoln.
Preschooler Vihaan Idara (center) participates in playtime with his teacher and fellow classmates during the first day of the semester on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023 in a new space at Standing Bear High School.
Lincoln Northeast’s Landon Hoff (left) takes a handoff from Jacian Brown (right) during football practice Wednesday at Northeast High School.
Becca Griebel (left) and her parents Tammy and Randy Griebel help her brother, University of Nebraska-Lincoln freshman Drew (second from left), move into his dorm room at Abel Hall on Tuesday in Lincoln. Around 5,000 students are moving into residence halls this week at UNL. Classes start on Monday.
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Bull riders ready themselves for the competition ahead during the Extreme Bull Riding Tour at the Lancaster Event Center on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lincoln.
Cassidy Krawczak-Kummrow pumps her fist in the air after walking across the graduation stage with hre masters degree during UNL’s summer semester commencement ceremony at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday.
NATS detasslers work a seed corn field somewhere between Lincoln and Waverly, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
Rachel Feldhaus, a 4 year detassler, pulls tassels from corn stalks on the final day of NATS season on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
Lincoln East head coach John Gingery talks tackling with a demonstration with Dash Bauman during a football practice Thursday at Seacrest Field.
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Patrons enjoy the first weekend of the outdoor carnival during the Lancaster County Super Fair at the Lancaster Event Center on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Lincoln.
Syllas Daniels and Kaneka Taylor (right) hold on tight as they ride the Orbiter at the carnival during the Lancaster County Super Fair at Lancaster Event Center on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Lincoln.
A nun peruses the animals on display at Rabbit Row during the Lancaster County Super Fair at the Lancaster Event Center on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Lincoln.
Angelina Mojok waves to the camera as she rides the merry-go-round at the carnival during the at the Lancaster Event Center on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Lincoln.
Cally Sullivan, Hannah Munk, Noah Schmoll and his sister Jocelyn (from left) let their rabbits hop from the starting line as they compete in a rabbit race during the Lancaster County Super Fair at the Lancaster Event Center on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Lincoln.
Offensive lineman Yahia Marzouk and Brady Eickhoff (from left) spring out from under the chute while running a drill during a practice at Lincoln Northwest on Wednesday.
Nebraska middle blocker Andi Jackson blocks assistant coach Jaylen Reyes during practice Tuesday at Devaney Sports Center.
Lincoln Pius X’s Hudson Schulz (left) tackles teammate Sebastian Morales during practice on Tuesday at Pius X High School.
A view of the Federal Legislative Summit on Tuesday at Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland.
Nebraska’s Bryce Benhart (left) and Brock Knutson practice on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, at Hawks Championship Center.
Lincoln Southwest’s Zak Stark makes a throw during a football practice on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, at Lincoln Southwest.
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Protester Kari Wagner holds up a sign as Nebraska State Board of Education member Kirk Penner walks by in the Capitol on Monday.
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