FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AT&T Mobility Reports 9-1-1 Service Outage
NEW ORLEANS, LA (July 2, 2019) – The Orleans Parish Communications District (OPCD) was notified at 5:20 a.m. on Tuesday morning by AT&T Mobility that the wireless carriers was experiencing a network service outage impacting the ability to deliver AT&T Mobility wireless 9-1-1 calls in Orleans Parish. This service outage may have caused issues with 9-1-1 call delivery, as well as call interruption and degradation for citizens of New Orleans.
At 7:20 a.m. on Tuesday morning, OPCD officials were notified by AT&T Mobility that this issue had been resolved. During the duration of the outage, OPCD officials were in constant contact with the wireless carrier to ensure functionality to 9-1-1 calls within New Orleans was restored as quickly and efficiently as possible.
When outages such as this one occur, OPCD asks that citizens who find themselves in an emergency should either dial 3-1-1 or the 10-digit emergency number (504-821-2222) to report emergencies. Citizens should also be aware that Automatic Location Information (ALI) is often not available to emergency call operators during these types of outages, so as much information as possible should be provided during calls to allow OPCD to pinpoint exact locations of emergency events.
“The OPCD staff worked diligently to find the cause of this issue and determine best how to correct it,” stated Executive Director Tyrell Morris. “Fortunately, we were prepared for an event such as this, and have steps in place to provide the citizens of Orleans Parish with emergency services, should they need them.”
“During outages such as the one we experienced this morning,” Morris continued, “we urge wireless callers needing emergency services to dial 3-1-1 or our 10-digit emergency number, (504) 671-3600 instead of dialing 9-1-1. As we work to inform the community of these temporary changes, we also ask that members of the community itself please share this information with their fellow citizens.”
About Orleans Parish Communications District (www.911nola.org)
Formed in 1982, the Orleans Parish Communication District is the public safety answering point (PSAP) for all emergency communications via 9-1-1 within Orleans Parish. The agency employs over 140 individuals and provides emergency medical dispatch, emergency fire dispatch, and emergency police dispatch for the millions of annual visitors and residents of the City of New Orleans. OPCD is a member of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
OPCD Contact:
Marcus W. Creel, MS
OPCD Public Engagement Manager
601.319.2024
[email protected]
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