Verizon Wireless told FCC that problem of unintentional 911 calls wasn’t widespread on its network, in part because it asked its vendors that used one-touch calling feature to deactivate it for emergency calls. FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Thomas Sugrue asked AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless and VoiceStream recently to provide information on steps they were taking to cut down on problem of inadvertent 911 calls. Those calls can occur when preprogrammed 911 buttons on wireless phones are pressed accidentally and emergency dispatcher is dialed automatically. National Emergency Numbering Assn. (NENA) has estimated that significant percentage of 911 calls are unintentional and it asked carriers in Dec. to provide information on what they had done or were willing to do to address problem. Verizon told Sugrue in Aug. 21 response it agreed “most if not all” accidental 911 calls occurred when 1 or 9 key on phones preprogrammed with emergency 911 “one-touch” dialing were pressed by accident. “We believe this problem is not widespread among Verizon Wireless’ equipment base,” carrier said. Company said it hadn’t required handset vendors to provide that one-touch feature. Some vendors included it in handful of models several years ago, but they comprised “only 8 of the 32 models we offer for purchase,” Verizon said. To follow up on Jan. deactivation request, company said it sent letter to vendors in March to make sure they shipped handsets with that feature turned off. It said all vendors confirmed they had done so, with exception of model by Samsung, which manufacturer said had one-touch feature that couldn’t be disabled. Samsung told Verizon it was developing software to turn feature off. Finally, Verizon said it had decided not to offer any new handset model that had one-touch 911 feature. “We have thus modified our product specifications so that they prohibit manufacturers from including the one- touch emergency 911 dialing feature in future models,” carrier said. Separately, VoiceStream told FCC in Aug. 22 letter that it had responded to NENA request for information in March and was trying to raise consumer awareness to prevent inadvertent 911 calls. VoiceStream informed NENA that all of its handsets came from manufacturer without 911 speed dialing being enabled. Carrier said it was working with CTIA on industrywide subscriber awareness program. It also said it was modifying guides for new subscribers to address issue. “Additionally, we will be putting a message directly on customers’ bills and also providing bill inserts specifically addressing the issue of unintentional 911 calling,” VoiceStream said. Carrier said it also listed 911 calls on customer bills so they could see whether they were making such calls by accident.

Performance goals and measures to assess national network-vulnerability reduction efforts “may be best developed in a collaborative way involving all levels of government and the private sector,” General Accounting Office (GAO) official told House Govt. Reform Committee joint panel. Although such assessment tools weren’t included in the President’s National Strategy for Homeland Security, document emphasized need to develop communications standards in that fashion, GAO Dir.-Strategic Issues Patricia Dalton said Tues. in Abilene, Kan., field hearing held jointly by Govt. Efficiency and Intergovernmental Relations subcommittees. White House plan recognizes lack of interoperable systems used by first responders and other emergency service providers, she said: “The strategy calls for the proposed Department of Homeland Security to develop a national communications plan to establish protocols, processes and national standards for technology acquisition.”

President Bush issued Executive Order that continued export regulations implemented under Export Administration Act of 1979. Order for additional year extends national emergency declared last Aug. for one year ending Aug. 17, 2002. White House said continuation of export law until Aug. 17, 2003, was necessary since it hadn’t been renewed by Congress.

FCC and Congressional mandates, especially those related to homeland security, will shape industry standards for voice over IP (VoIP), several speakers said at Signaling for VoIP Summit Tues. in Washington. Inability to deliver FBI- enforced Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) capability “would eliminate the ability to deploy VoIP networks,” BellSouth CTO Bill Smith said. “A year ago this wouldn’t have been a showstopper, but now it is,” he said, as CALEA is now seen as integral part of homeland security. Dennis Francis, Nextel vp-technology, listed several regulatory mandates that VoIP standards must support, including TTY text, E911, local number portability (LNP), wireless LNP. CALEA surveillance requirement is difficult with mobile networks because “subjects move among networks but also among modes within networks,” Francis said. “Mobile calls can be cellular to cellular, cellular to landline or push to talk,” he said, referring to Nextel’s proprietary “walkie-talkie” service where phone-to-phone traffic is carried on packet network. Future packet-based voice and data networks will face similar difficulties, he said.

Group of competitive telcos that use platforms of unbundled network elements (UNE-P) issued report Tues. that found UNE-P is growing rapidly, acts as mainstay of small CLECs and customers and doesn’t deter buildout of facilities- based CLECs. PACE (Promoting Active Competition Everywhere) Coalition said at news conference that report will be part of its stepped-up lobbying effort to discourage FCC from reducing list of acceptable UNEs. FCC is reviewing list as part of Triennial UNE Review proceeding and Bell companies have urged agency to drop some elements, such as switching. UNEs are parts of Bell networks that have to be shared with competitors. Group said they also are urging FCC not to preempt state regulators’ ability to add to FCC’s UNE list or to retain any elements that FCC takes off national list. Telecom Act makes it clear that Congress intended states to have that flexibility, said Z-Tel Vp Thomas Koutsky. PACE members noted that state regulators have expressed similar view to FCC on their legal right to develop their own lists.

Sirius will expand from car to home market by first half of 2003 with branded manufacturers marketing standalone satellite radio decks and A/V receivers containing it as built-in feature, CEO Joseph Clayton told us at Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. show in Las Vegas. Clayton declined to identify which brands might sell new home units, but said it was likely to be mix of new and existing licensees. Among current stable of licensees, Kenwood and Matsushita have presence in A/V receiver market.

Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.) urged FCC Chmn. Powell, NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory and Defense Dept. (DoD) Chief Information Officer John Stenbit to help craft U.S. position at World Radio Conference 2003 that would allow growth of high-speed wireless networks at 5 GHz while addressing DoD needs. Fate of 5 GHz spectrum has been among more closely watched of pending proposals for next WRC on allocation of certain bands in that spectrum for broadband access using wireless LANs while protecting existing services. NTIA has raised interference concerns, questioning maturity of studies on dynamic frequency allocation systems that could be used to bolster support for global harmonization of wireless LAN operations in band. Besides Hollings, Aug. 6 letter to top-ranking communications officials was signed by ranking committee Republican McCain (R-Ariz.), Sens. Boxer (D-Cal.), Edwards (D-N.C.), Kerry (D- Mass.). They said WRC 2003 would consider global allocation of entire 465 MHz at 5 GHz for use by unlicensed broadband networks. In U.S., parts of that band now are allocated for both military and unlicensed broadband commercial uses. “With respect to sharing and interference concerns, we understand that technical strategies can be employed to allow military radars and broadband wireless networks to share spectrum,” letter said. Senators said unlicensed broadband wireless networks had been deployed in schools, offices and homes as well as public areas such as airports and coffee shops “to provide Internet access to anyone who might need it… In the future, unlicensed wireless networks may well provide a next-generation broadband last-mile connection to the home and, as a result, may create a truly competitive broadband market.” Agenda item for next WRC is to address spectrum requirements for mobile, fixed, Earth exploration satellite and space research services and to review radiolocation service at 5150-5725 MHz. Draft proposal under consideration in U.S., which has been provided as input to U.S. position, would provide that wireless LAN stations at 5150-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz not cause harmful interference to other stations with primary allocations. Globalstar and ICO Global Communications raised concerns about proposed primary allocation for those systems. Senators told Powell, Victory and Stenbit that unlicensed wireless networks could provide “important national security benefits to homeland defense, to public safety agencies and even to the development of battlefield networks.” They said continued growth of those networks and their potential to provide last-mile broadband connections to homes, as well as mesh networks that could remain running in emergencies, “depends on the robust use of the 5 GHz band.” Letter said: “It is our hope that you will be able to resolve the sharing issues and develop a U.S. position that allows for the growth of high-speed wireless networks while addressing the needs of the Department of Defense.”

FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Thomas Sugrue asked AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless and VoiceStream to provide information on what steps they were taking to reduce problem of unintentional 911 calls. In separate letters Wed., Sugrue said those calls could occur when preprogrammed 911 buttons on wireless phones were pressed accidentally and emergency dispatcher was dialed automatically. “Although preprogrammed 911 keys were initially considered to be a useful public safety feature for wireless phones, the number of unintentional calls and the burden they place on PSAP [public safety answering point] officials suggests that more harm than good has been brought about by this feature,” Sugrue wrote. National Emergency Numbering Assn. (NENA) has estimated that significant percentage of wireless 911 calls are unintentional. Problem, Sugrue wrote, is that typical PSAP practice is to remain on line to try to ascertain whether call is intentional. If E911 Phase 2 location capability is in place, dispatcher also may have to send emergency services to caller’s location if it can’t be determined over phone whether call was inadvertent. NENA sent letter to several wireless carriers in Dec. asking for information on what each had done or was willing to do to control problem and outlined several solutions for carriers and PSAPs to address together. “We support NENA’s efforts to address the unintentional calls problem and would urge that all wireless carriers, to the extent they have not done so already, take steps to eliminate the problem,” Sugrue wrote. He told each carrier that it hadn’t responded to NENA or provided information on what steps were needed to tackle problem. Sugrue asked for replies within 15 days of company’s receiving letter on information including: (1) Whether carrier had “communicated to its handset manufacturers its desire that mobile phones not be preprogrammed to dial 911 by pushing a single button on the keypad.” (2) Whether it had instructed its employees to deactivate auto-dial 911 feature if it came preprogrammed on certain phones. (3) Whether it provided subscribers with information on problem of unintentional 911 calls for existing and new handsets. (4) Whether it itemized 911 calls on customers’ bills to highlight problem. NENA raised such issues as possible solutions in its Dec. 12 letter to carriers.

FCC is to take up item at agenda meeting today (Thurs.) on whether cellular carriers must continue under regulatory requirements that date back to duopoly era of cellphone service, including mandate to provide analog service as long as they have analog customers or roamers. One expectation is that Commission will agree to phase out requirement for AMPS- type (Advanced Mobile Phone Systems) service that started in 1981, with likely phase-out period of 5 years, several sources said. Bush Administration last month called for 5- year transition, period that several large wireless carriers have backed. Several automakers, developers of in-vehicle telematics systems and carriers also recently urged FCC to establish “orderly transition” from analog requirement. Among policy issues that have been closely watched in proceeding is extent to which callers with hearing disabilities could be accommodated because devices such as hearing aids now often aren’t compatible with digital networks. Auto-collision notification systems such as OnStar also rely on AMPS for location-based emergency response because of ubiquity of analog network. Bipartisan group of members of Senate Commerce Committee, including Chmn. Hollings (D-S.C.), also have urged “gradual phase-out of the requirement rather than an immediate elimination.”

Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) wrote to FCC Chmn. Powell on group’s continuing concerns about pace of Enhanced 911 rollout, citing LEC upgrades as “the last remaining hurdle in many instances.” FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Thomas Sugrue recently directed largest ILECs to make publicly available certain information on interconnections needed for E911 deployment by Aug. 28. APCO and NENA also told Powell: “We urge the Commission to take affirmative action regarding carriers that are clinging to questionable location technologies and, as a result, are falling well short of implementation deadlines and accuracy requirements.” APCO and NENA said “most troubling problems” that remained for E911 implementation included failure of many LECs to cooperate with public safety answering points and wireless carriers or to provide on-time upgrades to their automatic location information (ALI) databases. Groups recently lauded Wireless Bureau letter to LECs asking for detailed information on their E911 deployment. “However, we believe that the Commission will need to consider taking further action, including adoption of provisions requiring LECs to proceed in a timely manner to provide necessary elements of Phase 2 operation,” groups said. They also urged Commission to take “a hard look” at Phase 2 rollout of E911 by GSM carriers using Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD) of Arrival technology. APCO said it still had petition of reconsideration pending on agency’s grant 2 years ago of waiver to VoiceStream Wireless. That waiver had extended certain Phase 2 implementation deadlines for carrier and allowed use of E-OTD technology. APCO and NENA raised concerns about implementation progress of VoiceStream, Cingular and AT&T Wireless. They said Cingular and AT&T Wireless recently submitted reports to FCC “indicating major E-OTD test failures, raising further questions regarding its deployment schedule and ultimate accuracy levels.” APCO and NENA called on FCC to resolve its petition for reconsideration and “to require VoiceStream to consider alternative technologies as possible replacements for E-OTD.”