WASHINGTON -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has launched an investigation into the nationwide CenturyLink outage, which has affected 911 service for numerous consumers across the country.

Chairman Pai issued the following statement regarding the situation:

“When an emergency strikes, it’s critical that Americans are able to use 911 to reach those who can help. The CenturyLink service outage is therefore completely unacceptable, and its breadth and duration are particularly troubling. I’ve directed the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau to immediately launch an investigation into the cause and impact of this outage. This inquiry will include an examination of the effect that CenturyLink’s outage appears to have had on other providers’ 911 services. I have also spoken with CenturyLink to underscore the urgency of restoring service immediately. We will continue to monitor this situation closely to ensure that consumers’ access to 911 is restored as quickly as possible.”

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)