FCC Seeks Answers on VoIP E-911 Access Controversy

The meetings seemed to react to Vonage complaints about needing better E-911 access to Bell network facilities, sources said. Another factor may have been a suit filed last month by the Tex. Attorney Gen. accusing Vonage of not telling customers their E-911 access was limited. Each Bell company was set for a different day - Qwest on Mon.; SBC, Tues.; Verizon, Thurs.; BellSouth, Fri. It appears the FCC wants to “get its arms around the issue,” said a Bell official.

The fundamental question is, do you peel away this issue from the IP Enabled Services [proceeding] and do a separate action?” said a Bell company official. Another Bell source said the meetings didn’t indicate any plans to tackle 911 ahead of the other proceeding. However, a non- Bell source predicted “the FCC will pull 911 services out of the IP-Enabled proceeding to decide sooner rather than later, just as they did for CALEA.”

Vonage, which has sought Bell cooperation in testing its own E-911 solution, was considering petitioning the FCC for a rulemaking to set terms for E-911 access. Vonage Govt. Affairs Dir. Christopher Murray said the company probably won’t file until it sees if the Bells are more willing to participate in testing Vonage’s E-911 solution. The goal of a rulemaking would be to encourage more rapid deployment of E-911 service to VoIP customers, he said.

Because it rides on a broadband network, VoIP can’t automatically transport customers’ 911 calls to public service answering points (PSAPs) on the same route traditional wireline telephones use and can’t carry the same location information. A key part of “enhanced” or E- 911 service is location information displayed on the PSAP screen when a call arrives. Adding to the problem are VoIP phones’ non-geographic numbers and mobility, since customers can use them anywhere. The National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA), joined by most VoIP providers, has been spearheading an effort to solve these problems.

Qwest Public Policy Dir. Mary LaFave said a “stationary solution” is available. It involves buying 911 connectivity directly to PSAPs through CLECs or Bells. VoIP providers buy transport, enabling them to update information in PSAP databases to reflect the location when a VoIP caller dials 911. NENA is working on the tougher mobility issue, she said. A BellSouth official said NENA recently reported that 60% of VoIP providers can offer 911 capability for non-mobile use, mostly via CLECs. Vonage easily could take advantage of this option, he said.

The Vonage solution resembles the process or “patch” used to provide E-911 service to wireless customers, said Murray. Like the NENA standards effort, it would allow more mobility, he said. Murray disagreed with the idea of buying connectivity through the Bells or CLECs, saying a VoIP provider shouldn’t be “forced to buy service from a tariff to get E-911.” He disputed arguments that Vonage’s solution isn’t the standard. Vonage has the majority of VoIP customers, making its plan a de facto standard, he said. The bottom line is direct access to the “selective routers” that deliver 911 calls to PSAPs, he said.

Qwest participated in a test of Vonage’s E-911 solution in King County, Wash., near Seattle, but told Vonage in an April 11 letter it didn’t want to adopt full- time Vonage’s “experimental non-standard access” approach. “To date, neither NENA nor any emergency services standards body has approved of this non-standard access method,” the company said. “Thus Quest does not consider the trial overall to provide a solid technical foundation on which to base a broad deployment.” Qwest urged Vonage to combine the solution tested in King County and the dedicated transport offered by Qwest. The company also said it was willing to work with Vonage on rolling out a solution based on NENA standards.

Verizon will start a test with Vonage this summer that will include N.Y.C., N.Y. state and northern N.J. Verizon Vp Michael O'Connor said the test will be conducted with Vonage, a 3rd party vendor, the PSAPs, N.Y. PSC and N.J. Board of Public Utilities. Vonage hasn’t done any trials with SBC or BellSouth, both having objected to participating in a “proprietary” solution not based on industry standards. Vonage and SBC in particular have been at each other’s throats. SBC argued it couldn’t give Vonage access to dedicated facilities leased by PSAPs while Vonage complained SBC was giving such access to its affiliate VoIP provider. SBC countered that its affiliate was using a tariffed service available to Vonage. There’s an easy way to gain E-911 access and that’s to partner with a CLEC, said an SBC spokesman, noting AOL is going that route in providing E-911 as part of its VoIP service.

Eventually “the marketplace is going to fix” VoIP access to E-911 because “that’s what people expect,” said Verizon’s O'Connor.