Update, 9:45 a.m. Sunday:
Anchorage police said Sunday morning that 911 cellphone service has been restored after hours of not working.
“Cell phone calls to 911/311 are now working,” said an announcement from the police department. “Intermittent issues may occur while repairs are being made. A fiber line in the Lower 48 belonging to different carrier was cut during bridge construction yesterday and damaged phone service in Alaska.”
(1/2) UPDATE: Voice Over Internet service and mobile calling to 911/311 is restored. Thank you for your patience as we worked with our partners. The fiber cut occurred in the Lower 48 and was with another carrier, due to bridge construction.
— Alaska Communications (@AlaskaComm) December 29, 2019
No further details were immediately available.
Original story:
Calls to 911 made from cellphones on most carriers were not working as of early Saturday afternoon, according to an alert from the Anchorage Police Department.
The service disruption — which also affects calls to 311, the number for non-emergency police calls — was caused by a technical error, police said. GCI customers are not affected, according to APD, who urged anyone who needs to call 911 or 311 to use a landline.
According to Alaska Communications, the issue is a cut fiber line in the Lower 48.
(2/2) Additionally, mobile phone users across the state may not be able to reach 911 via their mobile device. Landline calling to 911 is not impacted.
— Alaska Communications (@AlaskaComm) December 29, 2019
APD’s non-emergency number at 907-786-8900 is still in service but not reachable by cellphone users, police spokesman MJ Thim said Saturday. Thim said police will issue additional updates once more information about the outage is available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.