CenturyLink Fined 133K by Washington State Commission for Service Violations

The Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) has announced a $133,000 fine against CenturyLink for multiple regulatory violations concerning customer service response times and documentation requirements. The penalties were issued for a total of 178 violations, with 169 stemming from WAC 480-07-175(2)(b), which requires companies to provide commission access to business documents. Additionally, the company was penalized for nine breaches of WAC 480-120-133(2)(c), which mandates that telephone companies connect customers to a live representative within 60 seconds. These violations were recorded over two periods: from March 2023 to February 2024 and from March 2022 to November 2022. The UTC has set a $750 fine for each violation, leading to the total assessed penalty.

CenturyLink, part of Lumen Technologies and Washington's largest local telephone company, must pay this fine by December 30. This enforcement action underscores the UTC's commitment to regulating telecommunications services within the state, although it does not oversee broadband, cable, or internet service rates.