CenturyLink representatives walked into a wall of frustration at Waconia City Hall on Thursday, facing customers who say they have gone without a working landline since late May. Residents described repair appointments that never happened, calls missed during medical emergencies and weeks of radio silence from the carrier about when service might actually come back. Company officials apologized in person and offered temporary wireless units as a stopgap, but many in the room said credits and apologies are no replacement for a reliable dial tone. Local lawmakers are now weighing what to do next as residents push for firm repair dates instead of vague assurances.
Company: switch failure, parts shortages slowed repairs
CenturyLink told KSTP that a central switch serving parts of the Waconia area "went down" and that repairs are dragging because replacement parts for older copper-based equipment are hard to find. The company said it has contacted about 200 of the roughly 300 to 600 local landline customers and is offering an "Air-line" wireless device as a temporary option, which CenturyLink says costs about $30 a month, while crews work on repairs. The carrier also told KSTP it will not bill customers for the time their traditional landline service was out.
Seniors, medical-alarm customers worried as repairs lag
Residents told KSTP that scheduled repair visits were canceled with little or no follow-up, leaving some households without phone or internet for weeks at a stretch. Michelle Samuelson of Cologne said her line had no dial tone during an emergency when her sister suffered a heart attack, and Debbie Mott said technicians never showed for two appointments that had been set. Representative Jim Nash has gathered reports from about 125 Waconia-area households and says people are asking for clear information and timelines rather than a revolving door of promises.
Part of a statewide problem, officials say
The mess in Waconia reflects broader trouble spots around Minnesota, where copper theft and aging outside-plant equipment have led to extended outages, according to reporting by the Star Tribune. The paper reported that the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has collected hundreds of complaints and ordered remediation after finding CenturyLink repeatedly missed state service-quality targets. Customers and consumer advocates say the pattern is a reminder that plenty of households still depend on old-school landlines to power medical alert systems and home security.
Where customers can turn
Regulators advise landline users to document outages and contact CenturyLink first, then file a formal complaint with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Consumer Affairs Office or the Minnesota Attorney General’s consumer helpline if the company does not fix the problem. The PUC offers an online complaint form and a consumer line at 651-296-0406, and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office provides consumer assistance at (651) 296-3353. Both agencies say they are monitoring outages and can step in if CenturyLink fails to meet its service obligations.
Regulatory pressure could mount
State regulators can require detailed remediation plans and, in more serious cases, pursue enforcement actions that include fines or other penalties, measures that have been hanging over CenturyLink in recent years, according to the Star Tribune. Representative Nash said he is considering legislative responses after hearing from dozens of constituents, a sign the issue could move out of repair trucks and into statewide policy debates if service does not improve. For now, residents say their demands are basic: working phone lines and honest, specific schedules from the carrier.
