FCC Tells Court It’s Ready to Set New Wireless E-911 Rules
The FCC backed away from a fight with wireless carriers over revised E-911 rules. The commission asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate a stay the court issued in March of the FCC’s location-accuracy rules, which carriers insisted were unrealistically tough. The filing came while the APCO conference was taking place in Kansas City, Mo.
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The FCC indicated that it’s ready to replace rules approved in September 2007 with looser ones. In July, APCO and the National Emergency Number Association said they were comfortable with the revised standards. Under the rules approved last year, within five years carriers would have to be able to determine the location of wireless emergency callers with 95 percent accuracy -- within 150 meters for carriers with handset-based systems and within 300 meters for those using network approaches (CD Sept 11 Special Bulletin p2). Carriers would have to satisfy the requirement for each public-safety answering point rather than by averaging results across a state.
APCO and NENA said they recognize that this standard was tough and the FCC “may want to consider either reducing the percentage of 911 calls from 95 percent or increasing the 150/300 meter metrics.” The FCC told the court it’s ready to set new rules. “Commission counsel have contacted counsel for each of the petitioners in these consolidated cases and have been authorized to represent that the petitioners do not object to the relief requested in this motion,” the FCC said in its filing. “In light of the public safety community’s support for revised rules, the Commission believes that voluntary remand and vacatur of the Order would serve the interests of justice.”
The Rural Cellular Association, one of the carrier groups that challenged the order, said in a written statement that it didn’t object to the FCC’s request of the court. “RCA looks forward to working with the Commission and the public safety community to ensure that any revised E911 location accuracy standards adopted by the Commission are well-reasoned and serve the intended purposes,” the group said.