FCC Opens Inquiry into ‘Next Generation’ 911 System
The FCC adopted a notice of inquiry Tuesday asking for guidance on building the “next generation” of 911. The 5-0 vote was overshadowed by a lengthy discussion of net neutrality rules, but commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said the 911 measure is long overdue. “It’s time to bring 9-1-1 into the digital age,” he said in prepared remarks. “If you find yourself in an emergency situation and want to send a text for help, you can pretty much text anyone except a 9-1-1 call center."
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Americans make nearly 650,000 emergency calls every day and almost 70 percent of them come from wireless phones, the FCC said. Among other things, the notice asks about the technical possibilities of texting, video streaming and sending photos to emergency call centers (CD Nov 24 p1). It also asks for guidance on privacy in the electronic transmission of personal medical data.
Tuesday’s vote was helpful, but thorny questions lie ahead, said Bill Hinkle, a former president of the National Emergency Number Association who co-chairs NENA’s next-generation committee. “Cost of course is a challenge,” Hinkle said. Local public safety agencies typically have diverted money from their 911 systems for other priorities. He said he’s worried that LECs, traditionally the hosts of local 911 systems, will see the new approach as a threat and “try to protect their turf.”
Industry seemed guardedly hopeful about the FCC’s approach to a modernized 911 system. “The migration to next generation 911 services will be a complex yet critical undertaking,” AT&T said. “Ensuring that both consumers and the public safety community have access to broadband and IP-enabled emergency services and technologies is a top priority for AT&T.” Executive Director Glenn Richards of the Voice of the Net Coalition said there are “technical and economic challenges ahead,” but Internet Protocol “offers great promise for a more robust 911 network.”
There is broad consensus that a 911 upgrade is overdue and the biggest question is how to fund it, an industry official told us. “The transition to IP is estimated to be billions of dollars and there does not seem to be any consensus where this comes from: Direct funding from Congress? FCC auction proceeds? From the technology perspective, while you can see the benefit of communicating through video, multiple languages, pictures, et cetera, presumably making this information useful will require quite a bit of training” at call centers “and raises the issue whether this information can also be easily transmitted to and accessible by the first responders.”