Lack of FCC Action on Direct 911 Dialing at Its Own Offices 'Completely Unacceptable,' Pai Says
As Commissioner Ajit Pai said the largest U.S. hotel chains have made progress on ensuring guests can call 911 without first dialing 9, he also criticized the lack of FCC action in dealing with the problem at its own offices. Speaking at a news conference Friday at the Marshall, Texas, police headquarters, Pai said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly discovered “something disturbing” last year. When callers using the agency’s phone system try to call 911 directly, they receive a message saying, “'Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please consult your directory and call again or ask your operator for assistance. This is a recording.'” The message should have an additional line, Pai said: “This is completely unacceptable.”
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The FCC should be “leading the way, not lagging behind, when it comes to public safety communications,” Pai said. He and O’Rielly have asked Chairman Tom Wheeler to fix it. The change "hasn’t happened,” said Pai, who vowed to be a “pest” until the problem is solved. Neither the agency nor O’Rielly’s office commented.
Pai spoke in the Texas town, where in December 2013, Kari Dunn, died at the Baymont Inn after being attacked by her estranged husband, according to a police report of the incident. Her daughter tried to dial 911 but could not get through because she had not dialed 9 for an outside line (see 1401210049).
Pai, who said he has been working with the lodging industry on making improvements, said that with the nation’s largest hotel chains, "the picture is much brighter than it was one year ago.” Carlson, Hilton, La Quinta, Marriott, Motel 6 and Starwood have in the past year adopted standards for direct 911 dialing, and Hyatt has committed to adopting one this year, Pai said. None had adopted the standards at the beginning of 2014, he said. The steps will extend direct 911 dialing to over 7,800 hotels and motels, he said. The chains are in the process of making sure all of their hotels and motels are in compliance with the standards, Pai said, adding that guests in all 854 La Quinta U.S. properties can now directly dial 911. Seventy-five percent of Marriott’s franchised properties are in compliance and the chain expects the figure to reach 100 percent by the end of the year, Pai said.
There’s “no need for roadblocks” like requiring callers to dial for an outside line to reach 911, said Dunn’s father, Hank Hunt. He said he couldn’t imagine what his granddaughter, Kari Dunn's daughter, was hearing in the background as she tried four times to reach 911. “When a 9-year-old-girl is mature enough and brave enough to make that call, she needs to hear an answer,” Hunt said. Dunn’s death put hotel chains and all businesses on notice that their phones may not reach 911 directly, said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas. "Businesses are realizing … ‘Wow, if a tragedy like this happens in my business or my hotel, I can’t say this wasn’t an issue I wasn’t aware of. I can get sued and it can cost me millions of dollars. … I can no longer say, Gee I never thought about this.’”
Calling Dunn’s death a "tragedy,” American Hotel & Lodging Association Senior Vice President-Government AffairsVanessa Sinders said in a statement to us that the lodging industry recognized “the urgency of the issue” and has “made a lot of progress in a short time.” The 10 largest chains in the association have fully implemented direct 911 dialing, the statement said.
Progress is being made, but in a "high-tech era, it is unfortunate that such a high percentage of [multi-line telephone systems] still require users to dial an extra digit before 9-1-1 to reach an emergency professional," said the National Emergency Number Association in a statement. NENA said it would work with Congress and the FCC to draft legislation and regulations on the issue.