All Juneau residents using Verizon cellphones should now be able to call 911 for emergency services following an interruption Friday morning.
At approximately 9:30 a.m. Friday, the Juneau Police Department issued a statement that calls from Verizon customers to the 911 dispatch center were not working. Those needing services were told to call the department’s main line as a second option.
Four hours later, the department issued a statement that services were restored to all callers. The issue was only affecting Verizon customers physically in Juneau but whose area codes were not 907.
“The safety of our customers is our utmost priority and we regret any inconvenience this may have caused,” wrote Heido Flato, a public relations manager for Verizon in an email to the Empire.
In April 2014, issues with Verizon’s emergency call feature led to a Federal Communications Commission investigation. The cellphone company paid $3.4 million in a settlement after a multi-state 911 outage that lasted for six hours and affected over 11 million people, according to a statement by the FCC.
• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.
