FCC releases task-force report on transition to next-generation 911 (NG911)

Another funding issue addressed in the TFOPA report is the reality that PSAPs must continue to maintain legacy 911 infrastructure—for instance, selective routers that direct emergency calls to the proper PSAP—until all PSAPs in a region have transitioned to NG911. With many PSAPs struggling to fund operations to support their existing systems, the notion of a 911 authority paying for the deployment and operation of NG911 while maintaining legacy systems for an extended period of time may not be realistic, according to the report.

“The opportunity for potentially onerous ‘double billing’ is clearly seen in this one example [of the selective router],” the report states. “Without proper resources, 911 planning entities needing to advance its public-safety systems will be left paralyzed.

With this in mind, the TFOPA report calls for the establishment of a target date to complete the transition to NG911—2024 is mentioned as an example, although TFOPA acknowledges that it is not legally enforceable—to give 911 authorities an idea how long they might need to support both legacy and NG911 connectivity.

“Such an objective would assume some sort of targeted federal grant program, with conditions, cited above, reducing or eliminating the number of states that divert 911 fees for other purposes, and other recommendations in this report,” the report states. “In short, such a policy would target not only a date as a national objective, but also would be a collaborative and coordinated effort from the ground up with local and state governments.”

Indeed, the TFOPA report expresses support for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s statements calling on Congress to help fund the transition to NG911 technology. But this support for federal funding should not be interpreted as a recommendation that federal entities should become the primary regulator for 911 services, according to the report.

Traditionally, 911 centers have been operated at a local level and regulated at the state level. But NG911 are based on IP technology, which means it can be interstate in nature—a fact that some policymakers argue would allow the federal government to assume more regulatory authority over PSAPs.

In its report, TFOPA called for the establishment of a “cooperative federalism paradigm,” under which state and local governments maintain primary jurisdiction over 911 services and the FCC would keep its current regulatory role. States commissions should continue to regulate 911, because emergency calls almost always involve communications that begin and end within a state’s borders, according to TFOPA.

TFOPA also calls for the creation of a federal Local State Advisory Committee on 911 (LSAG), which the task force recommends operate under the auspices of the FCC and would have diverse 911 representation, as the TFOPA does. Some initial tasks identified for the LSAG include reviewing 911 data that states submit to Congress, discussing the best methods to ensure that pre-paid wireless users also contribute 911 fees, and helping develop a 911 access fee that can assess fairly across all technologies.