Last week, 911 emergency services were out in parts of Minnesota for one hour and affected law enforcement, first responders and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging them to open an investigation into a recent 911 emergency services outage in Minnesota. The outage, which occurred on August 1, 2018, lasted approximately one hour and affected law enforcement, first responders and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

“I am writing about the recent outage of 911 emergency services that occurred in Minnesota on August 1, 2018. I urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a full investigation into the cause and extent of the outage as soon as possible,” Klobuchar wrote. “With an estimated 240 million emergency 911 calls made each year in the United States, it is critical that 911 services are a reliable lifeline for Americans.”

As a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Klobuchar has been a leader in pushing to expand communications infrastructure and improve 911 emergency services throughout the country. In February, Klobuchar and Senator Deb Fischer’s (R-NE) bipartisan legislation to make contacting emergency personnel simpler and easier was signed into law. Kari’s Law requires the manufacturers of multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) to create systems that allow callers to reach 9-1-1 without dialing a prefix or postfix and require on-site notification to make it easier for first responders to locate 911 callers in large buildings. Also in February, Klobuchar’s Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act was signed into law. This bipartisan legislation with Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Jon Tester (D-MT) directs the FCC to require providers that transmit voice calls to register with the agency and establish quality standards for transmitting voice calls. In addition, Klobuchar worked to include Next Generation 9-1-1 grant funding in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 and has consistently introduced Senate resolutions designating April as “National 9-1-1 Education Month.” Klobuchar and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) are the leaders of the Congressional E9-1-1 Caucus.

Full text of the letter can be found below:

Dear Chairman Pai,

I am writing about the recent outage of 911 emergency services that occurred in Minnesota on August 1, 2018. I urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a full investigation into the cause and extent of the outage as soon as possible.

As you know, 911 did not work across many areas in Minnesota for approximately one hour. This outage affected law enforcement, first responders and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, constituting a significant threat to public safety.

I urge you to examine the cause of the outage; how many customers were affected; how many 911 calls were disrupted; and how affected customers were notified. I also urge the FCC to develop recommendations regarding how future 911 outages can be prevented.

With an estimated 240 million emergency 911 calls made each year in the United States, it is critical that 911 services are a reliable lifeline for Americans.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

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