Windstream, the Arkansas-based provider responsible for three 911 service outages in Nebraska between September 2023 and January, will avoid paying millions of dollars in fines or having its carrier designation revoked as a result of the settlement, which regulators unanimously approved Wednesday morning.
The settlement comes more than a year after a water leak at the provider's downtown Lincoln data center kicked off a chain of events that eventually led to 911 working either sporadically or not at all in Southeast Nebraska for several hours between Sept. 2 and 3, 2023.
The leak caused an electrical short that ignited a fire and small explosion, leaving the facility without commercial power and reliant on a backup generator that failed after about 13 hours, forcing Windstream to resort to batteries to power operations.
The batteries later dropped to "dangerously low voltage levels," prompting the provider to power down one of its three switches, interrupting services — including 911 calls — across Southeast Nebraska.
That outage, along with two shorter disruptions in November and January, prompted an investigation that led to the State 911 Department filing a formal complaint in July against Windstream with the Public Service Commission, the state regulatory body that oversees numerous industries, including the telecommunications industry and the 911 department.
The complaint alleged that Windstream failed to comply with state and federal requirements governing the "operation, maintenance, reliability and functionality of 911 services" and, as a result, state residents were "denied access to 911 services on three separate occasions," eroding public trust in Nebraska's 911 system.
The commission was set to serve in a quasi-judicial capacity overseeing a hearing between the 911 department and Windstream this month, but instead, the two sides settled the matter without a hearing Tuesday.
The settlement requires Windstream to undertake a series of upgrades to fortify its 911 network — at a cost $1.02 million — before Dec. 31, 2025. The company would be subject to penalties of $1,000 per day if it fails to take the agreed-upon actions before the deadline, .
Windstream has already taken many of the steps outlined in the remediation plan the Public Service Commission approved Tuesday. The company has repaired its generator, contracted with a company to rent a backup one, and installed a switch that would allow staff to "quickly connect" a portable generator to power its operations, rather than manually wire the generator.
The company has also water sealed its electrical vault and corrected its alarm settings that failed to properly notify the company of its November service disruption. And the company in February added a third fiber "network path" that could carry all of Windstream’s traffic in Nebraska in the event that both of the other two are disrupted due to a fiber cut.
Under the plan, Windstream must also test its generators more often and for longer, revise its process for notifying 911 call centers during an incident, add external monitoring equipment to its electrical vault and tab a third-party auditor to review the reliability of its network in Nebraska, among other requirements.
“The commission and the public demand accountability from our telecommunications carriers," Public Service Commission Chair Dan Watermeier said in a statement Tuesday. "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.â€
In an emailed statement, Windstream's vice president of state government affairs, Trent Fellers, said the company "is committed to being a reliable communications provider for Nebraskans.
"We are pleased that we were able to amicably resolve this matter," he said. "While we have already taken significant steps to improve our network, Windstream believes the measures outlined in the remediation plan are prudent and will further strengthen our network in the state."
The Public Service Commission, which is investigating Lumen over its role in three 911 outages dating back to last year, is set to hold a hearing over the outages early next month.
After a string of 911 outages in Nebraska, Windstream, which has offices at 1440 M St. in Lincoln, has agreed to make more than $1 million worth of upgrades to its infrastructure and network, settling with state regulators.