A major 911 outage impacted multiple states on Wednesday, raising alarms about emergency system vulnerabilities. Telecom company Lumen said the outage was caused by a third party installing a light pole, affecting service in four states. Outsourcing 911 systems means problems can spread beyond state lines through private providers. The FCC is investigating and experts call for increased modernization and regulation of the aging 911 system. The decentralized system with over 6,000 jurisdictions leads to varying equipment, budgets, and capabilities.