APCO asked the FCC to act on the public safety organization's February petition for clarification of rules requiring national wireless carriers to meet a vertical location accuracy metric of plus or minus 3 meters for 80 percent of indoor wireless E-911 calls from z-axis capable handsets (see 2002070057). Initial comments were due Friday on a Further NPRM on advanced vertical location, mapping and 911 services. “The resolution of many questions raised in APCO’s Petition will impact whether and how to improve the location accuracy requirements,” APCO said in docket 07-114, posted Friday: “The feasibility and benefits of requiring more granular z-axis information depends on how the Commission defines what it means for carriers to deploy z-axis technology consistent with the manner in which it was tested. Which phones should consumers expect to provide vertical location information with 9-1-1 calls? How do carriers ensure that they have deployed z-axis technology in a manner that will achieve the accuracy demonstrated in the test bed?” The Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies said “public safety’s many challenges are best addressed through technological innovation and collaboration between industry and public safety stakeholders.” The order rejected a more stringent standard, the council said: “Nothing has changed since the Order was adopted a few months ago to alter that conclusion. The establishment of a more stringent requirement, without the benefit of technical data to support it, would be arbitrary both in terms of the level of accuracy achievable and the timeframe in which it could be achieved.” The FCC asked in the FNPRM if "initiatives are underway to develop resources for mapping building heights and floor numbers," said 911 technology company RapidDeploy: “Indeed, such initiatives are underway, both private and public, at local, regional, and statewide levels.” Public safety answering points and first responders “can be ready to consume and utilize floor level information well before the proposed 5-year timeline -- many as soon as today,” the company commented.

With FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks hosting a field hearing in Puerto Rico Friday about the need for telecom network resiliency after widespread damage from hurricanes in 2017 (see 1710030057) and more recent earthquakes (see 2002130056), scheduled witnesses hope the hearing will call attention to Puerto Rico's plight and help the telecom industry strengthen its communications infrastructure. The Wireline Bureau is moving ahead with plans to allocate millions in funding to help such efforts.

House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., filed his Fee Integrity and Responsibilities and To Regain Essential Spectrum for Public-safety Operators Needed to Deploy Equipment Reliably (First Responder) Act Tuesday in a bid to address 911 fee diversion and the mandate for public safety to move off the 470-512 MHz T band by 2021. The measure would repeal language in the 2012 spectrum law that mandates the T band move and would give the FCC the power to decide on “acceptable” uses for 911 fees. It requires the FCC to create an "interagency strike force to study how the Federal Government can most expeditiously end" state governments' 911 fee diversion activities. “Public safety officials have been advocating to repeal a federal mandate to auction off their T-Band spectrum,” Walden said in a news release. “Those same people should be knocking down the doors of their state governments to make sure that 9-1-1 fees are used to support their failing infrastructure.” The T-band language appears to mirror the earlier Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act (HR-451/S-2748), while some of the 911 fee diversion text mirrors the 911 Fee Integrity Act (HR-2165). The House Communications Subcommittee has been eyeing a hearing on public safety and national security communications legislation that included an examination of HR-451 and HR-2165 (see 2002070044).

Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters Thursday he plans to again meet with or talk to President Donald Trump to express his renewed ire about the FCC’s direction in planning an auction of the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band. Kennedy railed against FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s current C-band auction plan during a Senate floor speech, criticizing the proposal to allocate about $15 billion of sale proceeds for relocation and incentive payments to incumbents on the frequency (see 2002060057). Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said she's supporting Kennedy’s C-band centric Spectrum Management And Reallocation for Taxpayers (Smart) Act (S-3246).

National Emergency Number Association members began their annual Capitol Hill meetings Wednesday to urge Congress to pass the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act (HR-1629/S-1015) and Next Generation 9-1-1 Act (HR-2760/S-1479). HR-1629/S-1015 would change the federal government's classification of public safety call-takers and dispatchers to "protective service occupations" (see 1904050054). HR-2760/S-1479 would provide $12 billion in federal grants for NG-911 projects and directs NTIA to provide further technical assistance while also maintaining state and local control of 911 systems. Democrats included the bill’s text (see 1905220076) in their Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s (Lift) America Act (HR-2741), which NENA also supports. Lead HR-1629 sponsor Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif., urged NENA members before their meetings to counter opponents’ arguments against the measure, including that it could increase personnel costs due to a change in dispatchers’ job classification. The bill “comes with zero costs,” leaving it up to government agencies to decide whether the change in job classification should lead to higher pay for dispatchers, Torres said at the event. She noted OMB concerns torpedoed an effort to attach the text of HR-1629 to the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (see 1912120061).

APCO filed a petition for clarification Friday in response to FCC rules requiring national wireless carriers to meet a vertical location accuracy metric of plus or minus 3 meters for 80 percent of indoor wireless E-911 calls for z-axis capable handsets. The rules are to take effect March 16 (see 2001150011). The filing was expected to have been posted after our deadline. APCO wants to “clarify the rules … so that wireless carriers provide the 9-1-1 location expected.” Emergency communications centers “will be in the best position to know if carriers are providing z-axis information that complies with the metric, but clarification is needed so that, in the event of non-compliance, ECCs can raise appropriate concerns," APCO said. The group asked “which phones should consumers expect to provide vertical location information with 9-1-1 calls? How do carriers ensure that they have deployed z-axis technology in a manner that will achieve the accuracy demonstrated in the test bed? What additional z-axis technology testing is required, given that testing described in CTIA’s Stage Z Test Report was not sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the z-axis metric? When must carriers provide floor level information in addition to the altitude of a 9-1-1 caller?”

The National Emergency Number Association launched an NG9-1-1 Interoperability Oversight Commission. NENA said Wednesday it and other stakeholders will work together on the commission, which will address next-generation 911 issues, including “the need for Public Key Infrastructure to manage secure credentials within the 9-1-1 industry.” NENA will have “no direct control … allowing for fully independent oversight,” said Brandon Abley, NENA director-technical issues. “We’re following the exact same model used in other critical industries.”

TRENTON -- A state senator wants to amend New Jersey’s constitution to stop about 90 percent of 911 fee revenue from being used for unrelated purposes. "It's high time that we say enough is enough,” said Sen. Michael Testa (R) alongside county and wireless officials at a Friday news conference.

Efforts to end 911 fee diversion face more headwinds in four states that the FCC found continued the practice in 2018 (see 1912190077), 911 advocates said in interviews. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told us he’s following up with West Virginia, which hasn’t acted despite a 2018 promise by Gov. Jim Justice (R), and Rhode Island, which last year addressed the practice in a way he called problematic.

Five states diverted nearly $198 million, or 7.6 percent of all 911 fee revenue, for unrelated purposes in 2018, the FCC reported. That dropped about $87 million from 2017. FCC members said Thursday that any reshuffling is inappropriate.