FCC to Take on How to Make Text-to-911 More Readily Available
A text-to-911 item slated for a vote at Thursday’s FCC meeting is largely a follow-up item that takes on over-the-top texting (OTT), but mostly fills out the record on issues that are already open and before the agency, FCC and industry officials said last week. The commission will take up a policy statement and further NPRM on texting to 911, according to a notice released Thursday (http://fcc.us/KQ20qQ). Potentially controversial is the policy statement that tells OTT providers and smaller carriers they need to adopt procedures by the end of the year to accommodate emergency texts or could face regulation, agency and industry officials say.
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The item focuses on expanding the current text-to-911 mandate beyond Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile -- to cover OTT but also smaller carriers not subject to the same requirements. The four major carriers agreed last year to put procedures in place by this May 15 so customers can text 911 in areas where the local 911 call center is prepared to receive the texts (http://fcc.us/1l6Jv24). The NPRM asks questions about issues including location and texting-to-911 by subscribers who are roaming, which isn’t possible today.
Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile agreed in late 2012 to upgrade their networks so they could transmit bounce-back messages by June 30, 2013 (CD Dec 10/12 p1). The item also is expected to tee-up issues related to public safety answering point readiness to adopt text-to-911 technology.
The Competitive Carriers Association “has urged the Commission to consider important issues like state or regional-based deployment of text-to-911, and uniform liability protection for carriers who provide this service,” said Steve Berry, president of CCA. “We hope the commission seeks input on these questions in the item.”