Multi-state 911 outage blamed on company working on a utility pole

Photo from X page of the South Dakota Public Safety Department

(Kim Jarrett) – A 911 outage in several states, including all of South Dakota, is blamed on a company working on a utility pole.

Lumen Technologies verified in an email to The Center Square that it’s a third-party vendor not associated with the company. Lumen is the provider of 911 communications for South Dakota, Nevada and Nebraska, which reported outages, a company spokesman said. No further details were released.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, officials said in a news conference Thursday morning the outage began at 7:59 p.m. The 911 system was restored at 10:38.

The South Dakota Public Safety Department said it is working with Lumen on the investigation. The outage affected the system as a whole, according to Brad Reiners, director of communications for the department. 

The Federal Communications Commission said in a social media post it is investigating the outage.

By

Kim Jarrett | The Center Square