Mat-Su 911 restored

Wasilla Police Department and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough alerted the public that 911 was down in the Mat-Su on Jan. 4.

The system has been restored.

MatCom Public Safety Dispatch has been the 911 provider for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough since July 1, 2017, answering approximately 44,000 911 calls annually, according to a press release issued by the city of Wasilla.

In the fall of 2021, MatCom purchased and installed new E911 system equipment and entered into a software service and support agreement with Solacom, a subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications Corporation, city officials said.

MatCom experienced its first full 911 outage that affected the public’s ability to make 911 calls in November of 2023, according to the city. Since that outage, additional 911 service outages have occurred, city officials said, and MatCom staff, the city of Wasilla’s IT resources, and others, have worked with Solacom’ s technical support staff, engineers, and management to mitigate these service interruptions.

"A root cause of these service interruptions has been determined to be a software issue related to the placing of outbound calls through a phone system that is not under the Solacom support agreement, and not under the management and control of the City of Wasilla or MatCom. Effective at (6 p.m.), January 4, all outbound calls were rerouted from this phone system to a different system to prevent any future interruptions. We have high confidence that this preventative measure will prove effective until a permanent fix can be implemented next week," city officials said in the press release. "Our highest priority is ensuring that 911 services never experience an outage for any reason. The 911 system is encapsulated inside a secure network with 24/7 security monitoring. The system has multiple, geographically diverse, and redundant servers, connected by redundant fiber and copper circuits. Every measure is being taken to restore system stability, functionality, and the public’s trust."