SAN DIEGO -- States could speed 5G deployment by harmonizing rules for accessing poles and power, state commission staffers were told Sunday by wireless infrastructure industry officials at NARUC’s summer meeting. Meanwhile, the Telecom Staff Subcommittee cleared a resolution meant to increase affordable connectivity program (ACP) enrollment (see 2207080016).
Public safety groups urged the FCC to push for more use of location-based routing (LBR) to 911 call centers, in response to a June public notice, approved by commissioners 4-0 (see 2206080040). T-Mobile said how industry addresses the issue should be voluntary without the imposition of new FCC rules. AT&T and T-Mobile said implementation has to be done carefully and takes time.
The FCC’s public notice seeking a record refresh on improving how wireless 911 calls are routed to the appropriate first responders got only minor changes over the draft version, based on a side-by-side comparison. Commissioners approved the notice Wednesday (see 2206080040), and released it Thursday. Officials said Wednesday they didn’t adopt all the language proposed by APCO (see 2206060052) on emergency services IP networks (ESInets), but some was added. In an added sentence, the FCC now seeks comment “on whether wireless carrier plans and timelines for implementing location-based routing vary depending on whether PSAPs are using legacy E911 technology, are transitioning to NG911 (i.e., have implemented discrete NG911 elements, such as ESInets, but have not fully implemented NG911), or have achieved full end-state NG911 with all elements included.” The final version makes eight references to ESInets, compared with one in the draft. A new sentence asks: “How if at all is location-based routing different for [public safety answering points] that are not connected to an ESInet?” The FCC also added comment dates -- July 11 for initial comments, July 25 for replies -- which were based on the release date.
An FCC record refresh on improving how wireless 911 calls are routed to the appropriate first responders is expected to be approved 4-0 by commissioners at their monthly meeting Wednesday. The final version is likely to incorporate some language sought by APCO (see 2206010027), said FCC and industry officials. The National Emergency Number Association doesn’t support those changes. APCO was the lone party to file comments in docket 18-62 after the FCC posted the draft.
The FCC expanded its disaster information reporting service coverage of the wildfires in New Mexico to include Taos County, said a public notice Tuesday. Wednesday’s DIRS report shows 1.2% of cellsites down in the affected area, all of them in Mora County. The report shows 713 cable and wireline subscribers out of service, and the agency approved two grants of special temporary authority for T-Mobile in the affected area. No broadcast stations or public safety answering points were reported down, but one TV station and one FM station are broadcasting from alternate towers, the report said.
The FCC’s disaster information reporting system shows 6.2% of cellsites down and 1,227 cable and wireline subscribers out of service in the two New Mexico counties affected by recent wildfires the system is still activated for, said Monday’s release. The FCC deactivated DIRS for Colfax and Santa Fe counties Saturday. The system is still active for Mora and San Miguel counties. No broadcast stations or public safety answering points were listed as out of service in Monday's report.
The FCC’s disaster information reporting system lists 1,227 cable and wireline subscribers out of service in the four New Mexico counties affected by wildfires, a small improvement over the 1,271 in Thursday’s report, said a release Friday. The report also shows outages at 2.2% of cellsites in the affected area, as compared with 3.1% reported Thursday. No broadcast stations or public safety answering points were listed as out of service.
The FCC’s disaster information reporting system shows 1,271 cable and wireline subscribers out of service in the four New Mexico counties affected by wildfires, said a release Thursday. The report also shows outages at 3.1% of cellsites in the affected area. No broadcast stations or public safety answering points were listed as out of service.
AT&T said Tuesday it's the first carrier to launch location-based routing to automatically transmit wireless 911 calls to the appropriate public safety answering point, using technology from Intrado. “AT&T can quickly and more accurately identify where a wireless 9-1-1 call is coming from using device GPS and hybrid information to route the call to the correct 9-1-1 call center,” the company said: “With location-based routing, a device can be located and routed within 50 meters of the device location. Prior to this launch, wireless 9-1-1 calls were routed based on the location of cell towers, which can cover up to a 10-mile radius.” The carrier rolled out the service to 16 states and Guam, with full nationwide coverage expected to be completed by the end of next month, it said.
The FCC activated the disaster information reporting system for the New Mexico counties of Colfax, Mora, San Miguel and Santa Fe due to wildfires, said a release Monday. A Tuesday DIRS report showed 0.9% of cellsites down in the affected area, and no public safety answering points down, no broadcasters out of service, and no cable and wireline subscribers out of service. The bureau issued PNs on emergency contact information for licensees that need special temporary authority and on 24-hour availability of staff. A public notice also reminded essential personnel about the availability of priority telecom services overseen by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for when local networks are damaged or congested.