Pennsylvania Faces Widespread Intermittent 911 Outage; Officials Advise Backup Contact Methods
Pennsylvania Faces Widespread Intermittent 911 Outage; Officials Advise Backup Contact Methods
Emergency services across Pennsylvania are grappling with intermittent 911 connectivity issues, prompting state officials to advise residents on alternative contact methods for emergencies. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) confirmed that the ‘Next Gen 911’ service provider detected issues beginning around 2 PM today, leading to calls intermittently failing or lacking critical data like location and caller ID.
While the system is experiencing sporadic disruptions, it is not a complete outage. PEMA Director emphasized that teams are actively engaged with Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and the service provider to troubleshoot and identify the root cause, which remains unknown at this time. Officials have ruled out a software update as the cause and are investigating whether it’s a hardware, software, or other technical issue, but do not believe it to be a cyberattack.
In response, a statewide Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS) message were issued to inform the public. Residents are advised to continue attempting to call 911 for emergencies. However, if a call does not connect, they should immediately use their local 911 center’s seven-digit administrative line. These backup numbers are being disseminated by local 911 centers via social media and other channels.
PEMA urges the public not to test the 911 system by making non-emergency calls, as this creates unnecessary traffic and abandoned calls that require investigation, further straining resources. Despite the current challenges, officials assure the public of the 911 system’s inherent redundancy and robustness, noting that technical experts are working diligently to restore full, stable service as quickly as possible.
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