APCO Hopes to Change Waiver Language in E-911 Bill
Senate Democrats and some Republicans hope to resume work amending waiver language in the E-911 bill unanimously passed by the Senate Commerce Committee in Nov. (CD Nov 3 p11), according to interviews with lobbyists and Senate committee staffers. The Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) seeks the amendment, calling the waivers a threat to public safety. But Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) is unlikely to be inclined to reopen the bill when the Senate reconvenes Jan. 18, sources said. Work on the E-911 bill died when Stevens fought for Arctic oil drilling provisions, a battle he lost.
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“I don’t think the chairman would want to reopen it,” a Senate aide said. “Everybody sat there for the markup” and members agreed and voted, he said. A committee spokesman said he had no information on plans for the bill, with staff just back from the holidays preparing for hearings that start next week. Alone among public safety groups in opposing the bill, APCO doesn’t want VoIP providers empowered to offer services to new customers in geographic areas where a provider can’t comply with FCC 911 and E-911 requirements. Instead, APCO says, FCC rules on waiver requests should apply, meaning firms would have to go through the Enforcement Bureau case by case.
The bill would let the FCC grant waivers to providers that can show they can’t meet E-911 requirements for technical reasons. Waivers would last a year, and providers would need to notify subscribers they can’t provide the service. Subscribers in turn would have to notify providers that they understand they lack access to emergency service. Waiver authority would be in effect for 4 years after enactment. The bill went the Senate calendar at session’s end, but Sen. Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) put a hold on it until new waiver language could be worked out. Stevens wrote in Nov. to FCC Chmn. Martin telling him to assume the bill “eventually” would become law, but not by a Nov. 28 deadline requiring VoIP firms to be fully E-911 compliant under the FCC E-911 order.
VoIP lobbyists are eager to see the bill pass so industry can move forward. “I think the bill will be revived,” said VON Coalition Exec. Dir. Jim Kohlenberger. “We're doing a number of important things to advance the IP-enabled emergency network, and I think people are recognizing how much progress the VoIP community has made,” he said. The bill would help “put the community over the finish line by providing the tools to make the rest of the progress,” Kohlenberger said: “We have every reason to think that E-911 will be a front and center priority.”
Meanwhile, the FCC Enforcement Bureau is considering 37 requests for waivers from the E-911 order, an FCC spokesperson said. A decision on the requests is “pending” and considered a “high priority,” a commission source said, but he wouldn’t specify a timetable. Some said the Commission is looking for legislative guidance from the Hill before moving on waivers; others say if Martin grants waivers it could spur the panel to move more quickly on legislation. “I expect some activity before the Senate reconvenes, but I don’t know if the fire is as hot as it was” before the session ended, Patrick Halley, govt. affairs dir.-National Emergency Numbers Assn. (NENA) said: “I'm concerned it’s not, but we plan to stay engaged.”
“The VoIP industry is working feverishly to get compliant” with E-911 rules, a Senate aide said. “Vonage is getting there, and they're the best capitalized. Most of these smaller companies aren’t there yet,” he said. Firms need waivers to get footholds while they grow, VoIP supporters argue, pointing out that in rural areas many wireless and some wireline providers can’t provide E-911 services, but the FCC hasn’t threatened their business.
Seeing itself as held to unrealistic goals, the VoIP industry won an ally in Sen. Sununu (R-N.H.), who decried Martin’s aggressive stance at FCC Comr. Copps’ confirmation hearing (CD Dec 14 p1). Sununu told Copps the FCC shouldn’t discriminate against providers, indicating his strong concerns about the VoIP marketing ban threatened under the order if the industry isn’t found E-911 compliant.