The FCC is clearing its enforcement action decks before the Labor Day weekend. The Commission and AT&T (NYSE: T) have agreed to settle the investigation into the carrier’s 911 outage from last summer. The probe was to determine whether AT&T violated FCC rules by failing to deliver 911 calls to, and failing to timely notify, 911 call centers in connection with the August 22, 2023 outage in parts of Illinois, Kansas, Texas, and Wisconsin.
As part of the settlement, AT&T will make a civil payment of $950,000 and implement a three-year compliance plan to prevent a recurrence. The FCC requires all 911 calls be delivered to public safety call centers. When there’s an outage, carriers must notify the call centers ASAP. A call center can then inform the public and provide information on alternative ways to obtain emergency help, such as by calling the center on a 10-digit number or texting 911, according to the agency.
AT&T was testing portions of its 911 network when the outage occurred. An AT&T contractor’s technician inadvertently disabled a portion of the network, and AT&T’s system did not automatically adjust to accommodate that portion, resulting in the outage.
The testing was not associated with any planned maintenance activities and, thus, did not undergo the stringent technical review that would have otherwise been conducted, the FCC says. The 911 outage lasted for one hour and 14 minutes, resulting in over 400 failed 911 calls, notes the Commission.
While AT&T did notify eight 911 call centers in a timely manner, it failed to notify another eight. That’s partly why the Commission opened the case.
AT&T must pay the U.S. Treasury within 30 days. If it doesn’t, that would be considered a default and the deal is off.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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