FCC Fines CenturyLink and Intrado $17.4 Million For Multi-State 911 Outage

The Federal Communications Commission has resolved its investigation of an April 2014 multi-state 911 outage that prevented more than 11 million people in seven states from being able to reach emergency call centers for over six hours. The FCC's Enforcement Bureau has reached a $16 million settlement with CenturyLink and a $1.4 million settlement with Intrado Communications related to the companies' failures to meet their emergency call obligations during the 911 outage.

The 911 outage did not stem from an extraordinary natural disaster or other unforeseeable catastrophe; rather, it was a "sunny day" failure that resulted in over 6,600 missed 911 calls, including calls reportedly involving domestic violence, assault, motor vehicle accidents, a heart attack, an overdose, and an intruder breaking into a residence. "Americans need to be confident that the service they use to reach first responders is reliable and accessible in their time of need," said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. "Providers have a responsibility to ensure that Americans can use 911 to call for help any time. When a company fails to live up to its obligations, it will be held accountable."