Verizon Wireless told FCC that problem of unintentional 911 calls...

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.