Local Emergency Dispatch Says Windstream Phone/Internet Service Keeps Interrupting, Causing Problems

Darren Doyle, story
Edmonson County Dispatch says their phone and internet lines have been coming and going for the past couple weeks which could cause some severe problems with emergency services.

Pat Prunty, Director of Edmonson County Emergency Mangagement said that their systems are very sensitive and the least amount of disruption can wreak havoc on their services. 

"It's now affecting our 9-1-1 system, which is very serious," he said. "We've had the system just completely shut down with no notice."

Prunty said Windstream claims they're doing everything they can to remedy the problem, but Prunty says this is an ongoing issue.

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​"From what we understand, this could actually be happening county wide, or at least within the entire 597 prefix," Prunty said. "Unless you're on the phone or using Windstream internet right at that second, you don't even know it. Our systems sound an alarm with a disruption in service and that's what we've been experiencing on and off for the last couple weeks."

Prunty also said that the system only goes down for a couple of seconds and then it's back up, with the maximum down time being around one minute, but he also said that those are precious seconds in an emergency situation.

"We dropped a 9-1-1 call earlier, but luckily, it was toward the end of the call and we were able to reconnect with the caller. But what happens in another emergency?"

Prunty is advising that if you dial 9-1-1 and it continually rings or gets a rapid busy signal, it means the lines are down and because Edmonson County doesn't have a back up phone service, you should contact the Kentucky State Police at 270-782-2010.

"There's nothing we can do about it," he said, clearly frustrated. "Windstream says they're working on it, so you guys know as much about it as we do."

If you are experiencing problems with your Windstream phone line or internet signal or speed, call their customer service line at 1-866-445-5880.