Qwest Installs Backup Links To Fix 911 Outage Problem

Laramie, WY – Qwest has installed radio backup links and 50 miles of fiber lines between Evanston and Kemmerer since a nearly statewide 911 outage a year ago.

The company's Wyoming president, Mike Ceballos, filled the Wyoming Public Service Commission Tuesday in on what the company has been doing since the outage in August 2006.

The outage happened when a contractor cut Qwest's main fiber line while extending service to a school in Cheyenne. Ceballos told the commission that the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security will play a key role in continuing to diversify the system.

He says the office is aware of the costs of diversifying the system with fiber, and that he expects state Homeland Security officials to make recommendations.