‘Negligible’ Amount of Skype Users Expect Emergency Calls, Company Claims
A “negligible” amount of Skype customers expect to be able to make emergency calls from their accounts, the company told the FCC in reply comments on docket 11-117. Skype hired research company Penn Schoen Berland to do an online survey of 1,001 paying Skype customers about their attitude to the service, the company said. It found that “less than 5” percent of Skype customers “indicate they would be likely to use Skype to place an emergency call,” the company said.
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"Skype users have a good understanding of the limitations of current location information technology and are more confident in using landline and mobile phones to call 911,” Skype said in its 32-page comments (http://xrl.us/bmhu6u). Industry is concerned that the FCC will impose expanded 911 requirements on outgoing VoIP calls. If customers don’t expect to make emergency calls with services such as Skype, then the proposed regulations don’t make any sense, a telecom lobbyist told us Friday. Most of the comments filed last week warned that E-911 requirements might not be technically feasible. Even the National Emergency Number Association said the definition of interconnected VoIP “must be carefully drawn to avoid unintended consequences” (http://xrl.us/bmhu8j).
It’s doubtful the FCC will move to rules on the E-911 requirements in the near-term, two telecom officials said. The FCC seems more curious about the matter as an academic exercise and does not seem bent on imposing new rules, the officials said.
Touching on a wireless issue on which the FCC also sought comment in July, industry commenters said the FCC should exercise care in mandating indoor testing of carriers’ ability to meet location accuracy requirements.
"As a general statement, commenters appear to recognize the importance of improving location accuracy, especially for mobile calls originating indoors,” AT&T said (http://xrl.us/bmhusy). “Yet, it is equally true that indoor location accuracy presents many challenges, not the least of which are technological and logistical barriers.” Industry groups like the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council “provide the most effective and efficient means to foster the development and evaluation of new location accuracy technologies and testing regimes that will result in improved location accuracy,” AT&T said.
MetroPCS said most commenters recognize the “numerous complex technical issues involved with indoor accuracy testing.” While a few parties urge the FCC to move forward immediately, “MetroPCS believes any such mandate is premature,” the carrier said (http://xrl.us/bmhutc). “It is not appropriate to adopt mandatory requirements at a time when new testing methodologies need to be developed and tailored specifically for indoor requirements."
But NENA said “some amount of indoor location performance testing will prove to be unavoidably necessary over the medium term.” NENA cited a critical change in how wireless subscribers use their phones (http://xrl.us/bmhuso). “Wireless subscribers increasingly utilize mobile devices as their primary means of communications,” the group said. “As such devices supplant traditional wireline telephone service, consumers are ever more likely to use such devices indoors.” The “ubiquity” of wireless means consumers expect they will be able to be located by first responders “even if the subscriber is indoors at the time of the call,” NENA said.