DA 26-560
  									DA 26-560
								 Released: June 8, 2026

APPLICATION OF QWEST CORPORATION D/B/A CENTURYLINK QC
PURSUANT TO 47 CFR § 63.63 FOR THE EMERGENCY IMPAIRMENT OF SERVICE 
IS NOT DEEMED GRANTED

WC Docket No. 26-114
Comp. Pol. File No. 2133

	On May 15, 2026, Qwest Corporation d/b/a CenturyLink QC (CenturyLink), filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) requesting authority, under section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 214, and section 63.63 of the Commission’s rules, 47 CFR § 63.63, for the emergency impairment of its wireline telecommunications services and other real-time two-way voice communications services in a limited portion of the Bellevue -Sherwood, Washington wire center where CenturyLink copper cables were severed and removed by vandals causing a service outage on April 8, 2025. See Application of Qwest Corporation d/b/a CenturyLink QC Pursuant to 47 CFR § 63.63 for the Emergency Impairment of Service, WC Docket No. 26-114 (filed May 15, 2026) (Application), https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10515906926971/1.  References herein shall apply generally to the emergency discontinuance, reduction, or impairment of service under the rule.
  An emergency discontinuance application must be filed no later than 65 days after the occurrence of the conditions which caused the discontinuance, reduction, or impairment of service. See 47 CFR § 63.63(a).
  CenturyLink’s emergency discontinuance application therefore should have been filed no later than June 12, 2025, 65 days after the occurrence of the conditions that caused the April 8, 2025 outage.  Instead, CenturyLink filed its emergency discontinuance application on May 15, 2026, citing internal process errors. See Application at 2.  See Application of Embarq Missouri, Inc. d/b/a CenturyLink Pursuant to 47 CFR § 63.63 for the Emergency Impairment of Service Is Not Deemed Granted, WC Docket No. 21-325, 36 FCC Rcd 13206, 13206 at n.3 (WCB Aug. 27, 2021) (2021 Public Notice) (deeming not granted a CenturyLink application filed over two years after the occurrence of the impairment conditions, and stating that CenturyLink failed to undertake diligence to track the outages).  CenturyLink filed the current emergency discontinuance application over a year after the occurrence of the conditions that caused the April 8, 2025 outage, and did not exercise diligence to improve its system, track the impairment and comply with mandated requirements under section 63.63 of the Commission’s rules.  Although the Bureau has previously allowed for a CenturyLink delay of 33 days in filing an emergency discontinuance application where deficiencies in its internal tracking system were newly discovered, the almost one year delay in the pending application is significantly deficient.  See Section 63.63 Application of CenturyTel of Michigan, Inc. d/b/a CenturyLink, WC Docket No. 20-278, 35 FCC Rcd 13119 (WCB Nov. 23, 2020).  We remind CenturyLink and other carriers that we expect full compliance with the timeframes associated with the emergency discontinuance procedures.  We encourage providers to check their regulatory compliance processes to ensure that they are able to meet those requirements, and we notify CenturyLink that in this case it is subject to possible enforcement action for failure to comply with those requirements.  We further emphasize that carriers remain obligated to file emergency discontinuance applications when prolonged service impairments occur, even when such carriers are not able to meet the required filing deadline.  Although the Commission has notified CenturyLink that the Application is not deemed granted, we note that CenturyLink has indicated that complete restoration of the affected services is expected in June of 2026 barring further vandalism or unforeseen circumstances.  See Application at 4.  We expect CenturyLink to provide periodic updates to affected customers and the Commission regarding the status of this discontinuance of service, consistent with our § 63.63 emergency discontinuance rules, until the affected services are restored.

	Pursuant to section 63.63(b), authority for the emergency discontinuance, reduction, or impairment of service shall be deemed to be granted for a period of 60 days by the Commission effective as of the date of the filing of the request, unless, “on or before the 15th day after the date of filing, the Commission shall notify the carrier to the contrary.” 47 CFR § 63.63(b).
  On May 28, 2026, within 15 days after the Application was filed, Wireline Competition Bureau staff notified CenturyLink by phone that its late-filed application was not deemed granted.
 
	For further information, contact Kimberly Jackson, (202) 418-7393 (voice), Kimberly.Jackson@fcc.gov, of the Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau.  For further information on procedures regarding section 214 applications, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/domestic-section-214-discontinuance-service.

– FCC –

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