Voluntary Agreements Will Ensure Subscribers Can Send Emergency Texts to 911, CTIA Says
The FCC should avoid imposing regulations and rely instead on voluntary agreements allowing more Americans to send emergency texts to 911, CTIA said in comments filed in response to a January rulemaking notice. The FCC agreed to seek further comment on issues including whether to impose a text-to-911 mandate on interconnected over-the-top (OTT) text providers like Apple’s iMessage or Samsung’s ChatOn (CD Jan 31 p3).
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Carriers, APCO and the National Emergency Number Association reached agreement on emergency texting in December 2012 (CD Dec 10/12 p1). Among the provisions, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile agreed to make their networks capable of transmitting texts to 911 call centers by May 15.
The FCC should “continue to encourage voluntary industry initiatives to support text-to-911 services,” CTIA said (http://bit.ly/1emHsyX). “The Commission should not codify or attempt to enforce the Carrier-NENA-APCO Agreement. Rather, it should allow stakeholders the flexibility to develop creative, voluntary solutions to evolving text-to-911 issues.” CTIA assured the FCC the industry “remains steadfast in its commitment” to next-generation 911.
The FCC should view the 2012 agreement as “an alternative to, not a basis for, new regulations,” Verizon said. The company reminded the commission that the nation’s four national carriers are making progress, as evidenced in reports filed at the commission (CD April 4 p14). “The development and deployment of text-to-911 technology to date reflects how voluntary, consensus-driven efforts among industry and public safety stakeholders can achieve important public safety policy objectives,” Verizon said (http://bit.ly/1h9c3F0).
NENA said the FCC should make sure that receiving emergency texts is not overly complicated for public safety answering points. “In general, NENA continues to believe that a reasonably uniform, technology-neutral approach to the 911 obligations of text Originating Service Providers (OSPs) will best serve the Commission’s statutory mandate with respect to the preservation of life and property,” NENA said (http://bit.ly/PHal36). “Consistent with that principle, NENA supports the Commission’s proposal to apply a December 31st, 2014 deadline for the implementation of service support for Text-to-911 by all covered text OSPs.” NENA also said the FCC should impose a unitary text-to-911 service request model “to reduce burdens on service providers and PSAPs alike.”
Microsoft said the FCC should not impose the same requirements on non-interconnected over-the-top text message services as it does on interconnected services. “Such an expansion presents a host of challenges -- on technical, competitive, and enforcement fronts -- that must be fully considered before it is implemented,” Microsoft said (http://bit.ly/1h9fuLS). “Unlike traditional communications services that are tethered to a network and, as a result, have high barriers to entry and require a significant investment of time and capital, apps are easily developed and rapidly enter the marketplace from anywhere on the planet that an app developer has Internet access and the ability to publish her app in an app store.” Among the questions Microsoft raises is the fairness of imposing a mandate on U.S. app developers but not on developers living abroad.