Center Flooded With Out-of-State Calls

Dispatchers at the New Haven (Conn.) 911 center had an unusual Monday when over 500 routine telephone calls from all over the country began ringing in to the center’s 911 lines. Over a 44-minute period the dispatchers fielded 519 calls, about 20 times the normal volume, or an average of one call every 5 seconds. The glitch wasn’t related to the 911 system itself, state officials said, but rather to the routing of ordinary VoIP calls made in several states. Many of the calls were answered by New Haven’s dispatchers, while others rolled over to alternate PSAPs for handling. AT&T said the problem originated from a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC). In a statement, the company said they, “turned down that portion of the network and engaged the CLEC to help fix the issue.”