The Federal Communications Commission announced it is seeking comment on issues related to E911 location accuracy and reliability requirements for wireless carriers and providers of interconnected VoIP services. To that end, the Commission today adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).

 

According to the Commission Web site, “The NPRM seeks to ensure that E911 service meets the needs of public safety and the American people.”

 

The FCC (News - Alert) hopes to come up with a system of policies and procedures to “support the efficient and reliable transmission of meaningful automatic location information” designed to offer protection for cell phone users and users of VoIP services that connect to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). A PSAP is the physical location where a 911 operator answers emergency calls.

 

The FCC hopes to garner a better understanding of a number of issues, and is seeking comment on other tentative conclusions, including:

 

Commenting on the NPRM, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said, “E911 ensures that when someone dials 911 during an emergency, public safety can easily and reliably find them. To achieve that goal, we need to ensure that our enhanced 911 rules provide meaningful automatic location information that permits first responders to reliably find the public.”

 

He continued, saying that there are, “…important questions, and the bar must be raised for E911. We expect that carriers, technology providers, and public safety entities will rise to the occasion.”

 

In his own statement, commissioner Michael J. Copps (News - Alert) agreed with the Chairman in that, “A call to 911 is among the most important calls that any of us will ever make.”

 

“Customers deserve confidence that dialing these three digits will connect them to the help they need,” he continued.

 

“We need to get a handle — a better handle than we presently have — on the precise capabilities and limitations of today’s emergency calling technologies,” Copps added. “It is clear that we still have a serious challenge in making and completing some in-building emergency calls.”

 

Commissioner Robert M. McDowell’s comments underscored the enormity of the task and the challenge facing the Commission as well as all the other important players who would be involved in providing a comprehensive solution to consumers.

 

“We must walk before we can run,” said McDowell. “At the present time, it appears that measuring location accuracy at the PSAP level presents real challenges to carriers, technology providers, and PSAPs alike.”

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