Telecoms Struggle As FCC e911 Compliance Deadline NearsTelecoms Struggle As FCC e911 Compliance Deadline Nears

In the race to meet FCC emergency 911 (e911) requirements, two firms log some progress, while another seeks a waiver.

Under pressure to meet the FCC mandate to activate 911 service by the end of the year, Vonage and Telecommunication Systems (TCS) said Tuesday they will send VoIP E911 kits to provide vital communication information to thousands of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) beginning in mid-August.

At the same time, Nextel has informed the FCC that it would seek a waiver from the FCC mandate that 95 percent of handsets be in compliance with location pinpointing regulations by Dec. 31, the Reuters news agency reported Monday. Nextel said 70 percent of its customers’ phone will be in compliance by the deadline, but it could take as much as two more years for the FCC goal to be fully met.

Rita Thompson, a TCS spokesperson, said TCS has been working to bring both VoIP and cell phone calling into FCC compliance, adding that TCS’ wireless location solutions work with about one-half of the nation’s cell phones.

TCS has been working with the emergency 911 service since 1998 and the firm has recently begun to adapt its experience in the field to VoIP, she said, adding that TCS is also working with other VoIP providers in addition to Vonage.

The attempts to move e911 forward have proceeded in fits and starts, complicated by the breakup and subsequent splintering of AT&T, which had initially launched the emergency calling system under its single aegis, and by the fact that local jurisdictions have controlled e911 calling in recent years. The FCC stepped in earlier this year with a national solution and ordered that wireless and VoIP be in compliance by the end of the year.

“Anyone who dials 911 has a reasonable expectation that he or she will be connected to an emergency operator,” said FCC chairman Kevin Martin in the agency’s ruling earlier this year. “This expectation exists whether a person is dialing 911 from a traditional wireline phone, a wireless phone or a VoIP phone.”

The situation at Nextel is challenging because the firm is in the process of merging with Sprint. In addition much of Nextel’s bandwidth operates in spectrum also occupied by public safety agencies. Other smaller cell phone providers have said they will have trouble meeting the FCC deadline and more are likely to come forward seeking waivers as the deadline approaches.

In announcing the deployment of VoIP Enhanced e911 kits, Vonage and TCS said professionals from TCS will collect relevant PSAP data, which will be provided to the public safety community.