Late Wednesday, millions found themselves unable to dial 911 due to significant service interruptions across Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, and Texas. By late evening, however, the services had been mostly restored.
Authorities have ruled out any malicious activity like cyberattacks as the cause of these disruptions. According to law enforcement officials, the outages seem to have originated from an incident involving Lumen Technologies, a major communications firm. A spokesperson from Lumen explained that the outages were triggered in Nevada, South Dakota, and Nebraska when a third-party accidentally cut their fiber optics while installing a light pole. The issue was promptly addressed, restoring services within approximately two and a half hours. It was noted that Lumen does not provide 911 services in Texas.
In response to the outages, local law enforcement in affected areas provided alternative contact methods for emergencies. For example, in South Dakota, the Rapid City police offered other phone numbers to reach first responders, and services were restored about two hours later.
In Douglas County, Nebraska, the 911 director reported that the fiber was cut, affecting their operations until full service restoration at 4 a.m. the following day. Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, a temporary solution enabled 911 calls from mobile phones to be visible to dispatchers, who then returned calls to assist.
The incident brings back memories of a widespread AT&T outage in February, which also impacted 911 calls and was attributed to a process error rather than a cyberattack.
Authorities continue to investigate the precise causes and potential vulnerabilities in the 911 service system to prevent future outages.
