New local number portability administrator iconectiv said its system was working smoothly Monday after taking over operations from Neustar in the Southeast, the first regional handoff. North American Portability Management (NAPM), charged by the FCC with overseeing the LNPA transition, also said the Southeast cutover was successful Sunday, and it reached a contingency agreement with Neustar, if a rollback to the incumbent becomes necessary. An iconectiv official didn't anticipate that need. Neustar said it wasn't aware of any significant problems.
Representatives from APCO, the National Emergency Number Association and CTIA met with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff on changes to 911 and the role that could be played by apps and the like. “Supplemental data solutions can offer Automatic Location Information (ALI), routing information, or other data relevant to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for a wireless 9-1-1 call,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 07-114. That comes with risks, the groups warned. “To maintain the integrity, reliability and resiliency of the evolving 9-1-1 system, the parties encouraged the Commission to issue guidance to ensure that such solutions are reliable and secure.”
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly asked for Rhode Island’s next steps in stopping 911 fee diversion. A Tuesday letter to Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) said O'Rielly was “heartened” by his visit to the state last month, during which Raimondo staff said the governor was receptive to updating state law to end diversion (see 1803200052). “I am interested to know if you plan to make a formal legislative recommendation on this matter to the State General Assembly and if the creation of a new dedicated 9-1-1 fund will be contained within a supplemental budget submission or await next year’s budget preparation,” O’Rielly wrote. “It is important to know whether any excess 9-1-1 fees that currently go to the State’s General Fund will be reduced to the appropriate level or reserved to modernize the state’s 9-1-1 system.” Raimondo didn’t comment.
The FCC approved changes to wireless infrastructure rules, aimed at speeding deployment of small cells to pave the way for 5G, 3-2 Thursday over dissents by Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, as expected (see 1803070044). Both said the order had problems that need to be fixed and a vote should have been postponed. Tribes and groups representing local and state governments raised repeated objections. Security removed a protester complaining about RF issues after the vote at what was a lightly attended meeting. A robocalling FNPRM also drew some concerns (see 1803220028), while some other items were less controversial (see 1803220037).
Commissioner Mike O'Rielly slammed a New Jersey bill on 911 fees set for hearing Thursday in the Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee that would require at least 10 percent of state 911 fee revenue to be used for public safety answering point (PSAP) technology upgrades and maintenance. But FCC commissioners and the state wireless association earlier admonished New Jersey for diverting 89 percent ($108.1 million) of its 911 fee revenue to unrelated purposes in 2016, as shown in an FCC report last month (see 1802230012). “I appreciate that the New Jersey state legislature is looking at the issue but my initial read of this particular legislation is that it is far from fixing the problem," O'Rielly emailed. "Instead, it appears to authorize the stealing of 90 percent of the funds that are supposed to go to the public safety 9-1-1 system. New Jersey residents and its public safety officials, who have answered the call so many times, deserve better." The New Jersey Wireless Association plans to say at Thursday’s hearing that the 10 percent proposed in AB-2371 won't solve fee diversion, NJWA President Rob Ivanoff said. The Assembly Committee also plans to hear AB-122, which would require all publicly and privately owned public safety dispatch points to meet the same operational, equipment and staffing standards as PSAPs. PSAPs and dispatch points would also be required to have “a master street address guide or computer aided dispatch system that allows each call center to share 9-1-1 address data electronically.” The bill would require dispatching within 90 seconds of a 911 call, even if the call was transferred between call centers. And it would require PSAPs and dispatch points to keep detailed records of every 911 call received. The committee also plans to hear two other bills that haven't been introduced. AB-3742 would fund and require next-generation 911, while making texting 911 without need a fourth-degree crime. AB-3743 would impose a 90 cents 911 fee at the point of sale when buying prepaid wireless telephone service. Momentum grew to end Rhode Island 911 fee diversion after a state legislative effort there gained national attention (see 1803200052).
Commissioner Mike O’Rielly thanked Oklahoma’s 911 administrator for replying to questions on why Oklahoma and other states didn’t respond for an FCC report on state 911 fees. Lance Terry, the 911 administrator, had said Oklahoma doesn’t divert 911 revenue, but didn’t respond because the state’s 911 division is newly formed (see 1802260046). “It seems as though your State is properly prioritizing Next Generation 9-1-1 services and 9-1-1 management,” O’Rielly wrote in a Friday letter to Terry.
Oklahoma doesn't divert 911 funds for unrelated purposes, though it failed to respond to the FCC’s latest report on state 911 fees, Oklahoma State 911 Coordinator Lance Terry told us Monday: “All funds met the FCC standards and definitions for the purpose of 9-1-1.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly last week admonished that state and others for not responding (see 1802230012). “The State has a newly formed Division for 9-1-1,” Terry said in a statement. “The new office is gathering information and was not aware of this report until it was too late to respond. The State wants to come into compliance and complete the FCC report.” The state passed legislation in 2016 to provide 911 oversight and Oklahoma hired its state 911 coordinator last year, Terry said. The new Oklahoma 911 Management Authority has “several initiatives” to enhance 911 service, he added. O'Rielly aide Brooke Ericson responded, "Hopefully, the other states will follow the good example of Oklahoma.”
Movements to end 911 fee diversion in New Jersey and Rhode Island continue as FCC commissioners amplify rhetoric on the issue and after another commission report showed several states still using 911 fees charged on phone bills for things not directly related to 911. But governors in violating states haven't pledged changes and the state-level efforts -- spearheaded by industry and county officials in New Jersey and a state representative in Rhode Island -- are not new. Continued misuse of the fees is “incredibly disappointing” and “jeopardizes the future of the 911 system,” warned National Emergency Number Association Director-Government Affairs Trey Forgety. Funding is a key challenge to implementing NG-911, GAO said in a report released Friday.
Commissioner Mike O’Rielly admonished states that didn't tell the FCC if they diverted state 911 fee revenue for unrelated purposes. The FCC released its latest 911 fee report earlier this month (see 1802080062). “Failure by a state or territory to appropriately respond forces the Commission to provide an incomplete picture of 9-1-1 diversion activities,” O’Rielly said in a Tuesday letter to governors of Guam, Missouri, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. Officials from those states and territories failed to respond to the FCC’s request, he said. O’Rielly asked the governors to explain their lack of response, say if they diverted fees and describe how much money was diverted and for what purpose. “At the very least … you should have been aware of the impending failure to respond,” the commissioner wrote. “This suggests that addressing your 9-1-1 system or NG 9-1-1 capabilities is not as high of a priority for your state or territory as it should be.” That’s “beyond disappointing,” with lack of response suggesting that fee diversion occurred, he said. The states and territories didn't comment right away.
President Donald Trump signed the Kari's Law Act (HR-582) Friday amid commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. 911 call, the White House said. The bill, which the House gave final approval to earlier this month (see 1802080050 and 1802090050), mandates direct 911 dialing in U.S. hotels and other multiline telephone systems. “Today, 9-1-1 services are available to roughly 97 percent of the geographic United States,” Trump said in a statement. “Advances in technology have made this system more widespread, precise, and efficient -- enabling dispatchers to provide rapid response and timely assistance when the difference between life and death can be only a matter of seconds.” House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., lauded HR-582's enactment. “In the heat of a crisis, Kari’s Law ensures that dialing 9-1-1 means your call will go through, no matter what kind of phone you’re using,” Walden and Blackburn said in a statement. “With this bill now the law of the land, the tragedy that took Kari Hunt's life in 2013 has become a source for positive change, making emergency communications faster and more reliable for every American.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also praised the bill: “An access code should not stand between people who call 911 in need of help and emergency responders who can provide assistance.” Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus co-Chairwoman Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., touted the Next Generation 9-1-1 Act (HR-4672/S-2061), which aims to bolster state and local governments’ transition to the technology (see 1702280062 and 1712180066). She tweeted that 911 has become “the first point of contact for Americans in an emergency situation, but we’re still relying on technology that’s fifty years old ... In life-threatening situations seconds matter, and this enhanced information will be a game changer for first responders and the public safety community.”