Utilities Commission Staff Concludes CenturyLink Violated Laws and Rules

– from The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission —

On August 20, 2014, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission released its report on CenturyLink’s November 2013 outage. The report from commission staff recommends the commission order CenturyLink to pay over $170,000 in penalties. This is in addition to the $271,000 that the company credited to customers affected by the outage.

The Executive Summary and a link to the FULL REPORT follows:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Beginning early on the morning of Nov. 5, 2013, CenturyLink experienced a voice and data outage in the San Juan Islands when an underwater fiber segment of the company’s system was severed, which isolated the host switch in Friday Harbor from the remainder of the network.

The outage resulted in a loss of toll calls, data communications, and local calls on San Juan, Lopez, Orcas, Blakely, Decatur, and Shaw Islands, and between those islands and the mainland. Approximately 5,800 access lines on San Juan Island retained intra-island calling ability. Following considerable efforts and incremental restoration, CenturyLink fully restored service on Nov. 15, 2013. The outage affected a total of 15,921 regulated access lines.

Commission staff initiated an investigation on Dec. 6, 2013. On Dec. 9, the commission held a public hearing in Friday Harbor to hear from the Company, as well as from local customers and government agencies. Representatives from the San Juan County Department of Emergency Management, San Juan Fire Service, Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO), San Juan Chamber of Commerce, and local businesses expressed dissatisfaction with CenturyLink’s infrastructure, equipment, and service; communication during and immediately following the outage; and the service restoral timeframe.

Subsequent to the hearing, commission staff undertook further investigation to:
• Determine what caused the outage;
• Evaluate CenturyLink’s restoration efforts;
• Evaluate CenturyLink’s communications with affected customers during the outage; and
• Determine the extent to which CenturyLink’s facilities in the San Juan Islands were adequate to provide service as required by state law.

Staff worked with an outside consultant, Robert Munoz, Undersea Cable Consultants, LLC, to assist in the investigation of the cause of the outage and evaluate the company’s restoration efforts. Mr. Munoz’s full report is attached as Appendix J.

As a result of this investigation, staff concluded that CenturyLink violated the following laws and commission rules:
• WAC 480-120-412(2), Major Outages – Notification to the commission
• WAC 480-120-412(3), Major Outages – Notification to county E911 coordinator
• WAC 480-120-412(5), Major Outages – Dissemination of information to the public

Staff also concluded that, given the circumstances, CenturyLink was fortunate to have restored service in just 10 days. Finally, after investigating the national standards in the telecommunications industry for providing service to island communities, staff was unable to conclude that CenturyLink’s facilities were inadequate compared to similar facilities around the country.

Following the outage, CenturyLink replaced the severed undersea cable and committed to installing a microwave system to ensure backup service in the event of future disruptions. That installation is currently underway.

Penalty Recommendation
Staff recommends the commission issue a formal complaint against the company and assess a penalty of up to $173,210 for 15,935 violations of commission laws and rules, as follows:
• Up to $3,000 for three violations of WAC 480-120-412(2) for failing to promptly notify the commission of the outage.
• Up to $10,000 for ten violations of WAC 480-120-412(3) for failing to immediately notify the county E911 coordinator of the outage and provide periodic updates.
• Up to $1,000 for one violation of WAC 480-120-412(5) for failing to implement procedures specific to this outage to disseminate information to the public and public officials.
• $10 for each of 15,921 violations of WAC 480-120-412(5) for failing to disseminate information to the public, for a total penalty of $159,210.

Technical Recommendations
To limit the impact of future outages, staff recommends the commission require CenturyLink to do each of the following:

• Notify the commission when each microwave system’s spectrum has been approved by both the Federal Communications Commission and Canadian authorities.
• Notify the commission when both microwave systems are suitable for providing service.
• Submit an annual maintenance plan to the commission specifying, at a minimum, the microwave facilities to be inspected and the frequency and manner in which inspections are conducted.
• Report annually to the commission that both San Juan microwave systems are able to provide redundant capacity to island customers.
• Report annually to the commission any routine maintenance performed during the preceding year for both the underwater fiber cable and microwave systems.
• Require the company to petition the commission for approval of any company plans to modify or eliminate redundant service between the islands and from the islands to the mainland.
• By Nov. 30 each year, submit proposed annual inspection plans for the subsequent calendar year for all underwater facilities in Washington owned by CenturyLink that connect a community to the public switched network. The plans should, at a minimum, specify the location of the facility to be inspected and the frequency and manner in which inspections are conducted.
• By March 31 each year, submit an annual report to the commission describing the actual inspections conducted in the preceding calendar year.

Report Format
This investigation report is divided into four sections. The first section provides background information about the company and the investigation. The second section describes the network and discusses findings related to the cause and restoral of the outage. The third section discusses findings related to CenturyLink’s communications with commission staff, local government, and affected customers during the outage. Staff’s recommendations appear in the last section.

To download the full report, CLICK HERE.