VoIP E-911 Bill Agreement Reached; Senate Action Likely Soon
Conferees on a VoIP E-911 bill (HR-3403) are hoping to get the Senate to approve a bill reflecting an agreement struck two weeks ago by members of both parties and chambers (CD May 22 p2), Hill and industry sources said Tuesday. The bill drops language opposed by telecom carriers that would have barred them from using customer information in FCC competition proceedings. Earlier drafts of the bill would have limited use of the information to emergency network needs.
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The bill likely will be “hotlined” in the Senate first either this week or next, an expedited process that gives members one last chance to object, industry and Hill sources said. Objections aren’t expected to the draft bill, negotiated over several months. If the Senate approves the bill, it’s likely to go the House, where it started three years ago, for consideration on the suspension calendar.
“I'm glad the House and Senate are ready to move it forward in the coming weeks,” said Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., sponsor of HR-3403. “When Congress passes this bill, it will be a tremendous victory for public safety.” The bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., was out of the country and couldn’t be reached for comment. Public safety interests were pleased that the bill is close to passage after three years of work and extensive discussion with businesses and emergency service organizations.
“We're very pleased with it and hope it will get passed as soon as possible,” said Patrick Halley, government affairs director of the National Emergency Number Association. USTelecom had opposed the limitation on the database, one of the sticking points that held up progress on the bill. Negotiators working on the bill said FCC regulations already provide protection for consumer data under customer proprietary network information rules -- so the provision, included only in the House bill, was dropped.
The bill would give VoIP providers access to the 911 system equal to wireless carriers’. The measure also would give VoIP providers the civil immunity that the wireless industry has. VoIP providers would have to register with the FCC to set a point of contact for public safety and government officials for 911 and E-911 service. The bill would require the FCC to work with public safety organizations, industry and an E-911 office to develop “best practices” for public safety answering points data gathering procedures.
The bill defines E-911 service as the delivery of 911 calls of the E-911 network and “equivalent or successor technologies, with automatic number identification, automatic location information and equivalent or successor information features.”