There have been complaints this year over the service provided to customers on the Reservation by CenturyLink, also known by the name Lumen. In some cases, property owners have been without landline service for weeks. One of those complaints arises from the failure of CenturyLink to properly mark lines when construction activity takes place near a utility line.  

The Tribe’s Broadband project is currently installing underground fiber optic cables in various locations across the Reservation to ensure that Reservation residents have adequate broadband service. At times, phone lines have been improperly located by utility companies, or not marked at all, resulting in accidental cuts. This article outlines the responsibility for line location, addresses accountability for service issues, and provides instructions for reporting an outage with CenturyLink specifically. 

Generally, anyone attempting to complete an excavation project must call 811 at least three business days before starting to dig. This is important for several reasons, including making sure that all utility lines are properly detected and marked, and to allow the utility technicians time to clear the excavation project. In Colorado, if a utility owner does not mark its lines within the required three business days after 811 is contacted, a contractor can proceed with excavation.  

This is the process handled by the Tribe’s Broadband construction contractor. In advance of any construction activity, the Tribe’s contractor proactively calls 811 to verify utility locations. Calling 811 before digging is a crucial step for projects requiring excavation around houses, commercial property, or roadways. This process is to avoid damaging underground utility lines. If a line strike does occur due to mismarked or unmarked lines, the damage is reported to 811. In Colorado, the utility company is responsible for paying for repairs if it mismarked or failed to mark a utility line. 

If your CenturyLink phone line is accidentally cut during construction, reporting the cut to 811 does not automatically trigger a repair ticket. Impacted customers will need to contact CenturyLink directly and report the outage.  

This is what we recommend you do if you are a Century Link customer and experience an outage:  

 

1. First, have your account number, phone number, account name, and email address ready. Then, use one of the options below to contact customer service.  

1. Sign up or sign in to My CenturyLink on the web or download their app from the Google Play or Apple App Store. Within the app, you can see if there is a known outage in your area. If you need to report an issue, you will be asked to run the Troubleshooter first, and then you can start a “Chat” with an agent.  

1. If you have access to the internet on your PC or mobile device, you can start a “Chat” session with customer support without signing in to the web or using the app by visiting www.centurylink.com/home/help/contact.html. Click on the “Let’s Chat” button. 

1. Existing customers can call Tech Support at 800-201-4099 to open a repair ticket.  

 

If you continue to experience issues or receive no response from CenturyLink and are a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, you are welcome to contact the Tribe’s Executive Officer at 970-563-2314 for assistance.