Few regulations apply to Centurylink following statewide outage

It's not clear what action, if any, the state could take following a sudden phone service outage last week.

After a construction crews cut a Centurylink fiber line in Kansas City, 911 centers, schools, and other local agencies were impacted in Mid-Missouri.

The company is not regulated by the Department of Commerce and Insurance. A spokesperson with the State Public Services Commission said telecommunications companies are required to notify 911 services of any outages.

"We quickly notified public safety officials in impacted areas. We know that when someone calls 911, seconds count and we take that responsibility seriously," a Centurylink spokesperson said following the outage.

It's still not clear who caused the outage. A third-party construction company was installing street signs when the fiber line was struck, according to Centurylink.

Both MoDOT and the Kansas City government said Monday that they were not aware of any work related to the outage.