Text-to-911 Trials Show Technology Works, Furth Says

Text-to-911 is seen by the bureau as a “first stage towards implementation of a full next-generation capability that would support not only voice and text but other capacities as well,” Furth said. A number of jurisdictions have initiated trials of emergency texting, including a test in Black Hawk County, Iowa, that’s been in progress for a number of years, as well as trials in Durham. N.C., Vermont and, “most recently,” in the state of Tennessee, he noted. “Those trials have provided an opportunity to test the technical viability of text-to-911 and also some of the consumer issues and some of the operational issues that face 911 call centers in handling texts,” Furth said. “Our general sense of those trials is that they've been very successful."

Many public safety and other UHF and VHF licensees still have not met the commission’s narrowbanding requirement, the deadline for which is only about three months away, Furth warned. According to the FCC’s licensing database, “well in excess of half” the licensees have confirmed to the FCC they are in the process of narrowbanding, he said. “We're very pleased with that progress,” he said. “At the same time, we know that there are many licensees that still, faced with the deadline, have challenges meeting that deadline.” It is “imperative” that licensees running into problems “file a timely waiver request” at the commission, he said. “A number of licensees have done so. We have issued a number of waiver decisions and are continuing to do so.” Licensees that don’t comply face penalties from the Enforcement Bureau, he said.

FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn formally asked the FCC Wednesday for a license to allow FirstNet to use 20 MHz of 700 MHz band public safety spectrum, Furth noted. The FCC will act on the letter “in the near term,” since there is a “statutory mandate” that the license be issued to FirstNet, he said. The FCC has more work to do on the first responder network since the commission is responsible for rules for state opt-out requests once the group develops its deployment plans. “That’s … somewhat down the road so right now what we're focused on is simply the initial steps to get the process rolling,” he said.

The FCC also plans to move forward on an examination of how to extend location-accuracy requirements indoors, since calls to 911 from all locations are made using wireless phones, Furth said. Oct. 24, the commission plans a workshop on the technological options for developing indoor accuracy, Furth said. The FCC will also soon seek comment on the proper regulatory framework for the development of next-generation 911, to be used in a report the agency must send to Congress in February as one requirement of this year’s spectrum law.

In another presentation at the webinar, Eric Bash, associate chief of the Enforcement Bureau, said the agency is investigating calling card abuses and will continue to pursue what it sees as violations of the Communications Act. Many consumers don’t get the number of minutes they think they'll get when they buy the cards, Bash said.

Consumers buy the cards with the expectation that they are buying a given number of minutes to various locations based on ads for the cards, Bash said. “The problem is that there are different fees often associated with the use of these cards of different types … that can quickly erode the magnitude of the minutes that you can actually use for the dollar amount that you have paid.” Companies that offer calling cards provide disclosures of these fees on the posters advertising the cards and on the “hang-tags” attached to the cards themselves, he said. The disclosures are often “in very tiny type that really pales in comparison to the bigger claim that is designed to get the attention of the consumer to buy the card in the first place,” he said: The disclosures also “still don’t help you understand what exactly you are going to get for the cost that you are paying.” Often a consumer is able to get the number of advertised minutes “only if she or she makes one single call,” he said.

The Enforcement Bureau believes the marketing of some of the cards violates Section 201 (b) of the Communications Act, “which is a very broad prohibition stating that carriers cannot engage in unjust and unreasonable practices or impose unjust and unreasonable rates,” Bash said. In 2011, the bureau issued notices of apparent liability against five carriers for a total of $25 million in proposed fines, he said. “We are considering in due course where to go from here,” he said. “Keep your eyes peeled. There may be more enforcement actions coming up that are along the same lines as those we have already taken.”