FCC Names VoIP 911 Panel

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has named a task force
to oversee the agency’s Voice over IP E911 mandate.


Scheduled to begin meeting this month, the 10-member panel of FCC staff and
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) members are
charged with developing educational materials, ensuring compliance, data
collection and best practices.


The FCC unanimously voted in May to require Internet telephone companies to
provide emergency 911 services to all their customers by the end of the
year.


Because of the nomadic nature of VoIP, the first generation of commercially
viable Internet-based voice services frequently route 911 calls to public
safety administrative offices instead of directly sending the calls to
Public Service Answering Points (PSAPs).


After hearing wrenching tales of VoIP customers unable to
reach a PSAP during an emergency, the FCC dictated that Internet telephone companies not only provide more traditional E911 services, but also notify and receive
acknowledgments from all customers of possible service limitations.


The FCC also ordered incumbent carriers to provide access to their 911
networks to Internet telephone companies, including access to trunk lines,
selective routers and 911 databases.


The initial deadline for receiving customer acknowledgments was originally
set for the end of July, a deadline that has twice been extended. The
current deadline is the end of September.


One of the primary duties of the new task force will be to develop
educational materials to ensure consumers understand their rights and the
requirements of the VoIP E911 rules.


VoIP providers are already distributing warning labels to all subscribers
for use on or near VoIP equipment interconnected to the public switched
telephone network (PSTN).


FCC members of the panel include Joseph Casey, chief of the Spectrum
Enforcement Division; Colleen Heitkamp, chief of the Telecommunications
Consumers Division; Sue McNeil, acting deputy bureau chief of the Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau; Louis Sigalos, chief of the Consumer Affairs
and Outreach Division; and Julie Veach, acting chief of the Competition
Policy Division.


NARUC representatives include Gary Klug, chief engineer of the Colorado
Public Utilities Commission; Robert Mayer, director of the Office of
Telecommunications, New York State Department of Public Service; Jeff
Richter, principal telecommunications analyst, Public Service Commission of
Wisconsin; Eddie Roberson, chief of the Consumer Services and External
Affairs Division, Tennessee Regulatory Authority; and Steve Wilt, public
utility regulatory analyst for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

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