FCC PROPOSES FINING T-MOBILE $1.25 MILLION ON E911

The notice of apparent liability (NAL) against T-Mobile came as FCC Comr. Adelstein told a Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee hearing on E911 Wed. that he advocated an “enforcement first” policy in dealing with carrier implementation. “I'm not interested in waivers,” he said (see separate story, this issue). The proposed fine marks the first time the Commission has taken such enforcement action involving a Phase 1 violation of its E911 rules and is expected to signal a new round of enforcement attention on Phase 1 compliance. Previous E911 enforcement actions involving fines so far have involved Phase 2, including a $2 million consent decree the FCC approved last fall with AT&T Wireless, the largest E911 fine to date. Within 30 days, T-Mobile either has to pay the proposed fine or file a written statement seeking a reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.

As for the E911 coordination initiative, the FCC said an April 29 meeting would examine implementation issues such as PSAP funding, wireless carrier “implementation and prioritization,” issues relating to LECs and rural carrier challenges. The initiative follows up on recommendations and findings made last fall by former Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Dale Hatfield, who was commissioned by the FCC to look at technical and operational issues shaping E911 deployment. The FCC said the meeting would be the first in a “series” of coordination efforts to expedite E911 deployment. It will kick off with a meeting at the FCC April 29, Adelstein and FCC Comr. Abernathy said at the Wed. hearing.

“Wireless E911 deployment is an urgent priority deserving of the ever-increasing attention of the Commission and Congress,” FCC Chmn. Powell said. “My fellow commissioners and I look forward to playing a constructive role in facilitating communication between and among the various parties tasked with making E911 deployment a reality.”

In response to the fine, T-Mobile Senior Corporate Counsel-Govt. & Industry Affairs Bob Calaff said the company voluntarily went to the FCC to talk about its inventory of Phase 1 requests from PSAPs. “T-Mobile already has deployed E911 Phase 1 to 768 PSAPs and has a deployment plan in place to fulfill all currently pending valid Phase 1 requests by October 2003, with the majority of such requests completed by July 2003,” he said. “These numbers reflect significant progress in T-Mobile fulfilling its inventory of E911 Phase 1 requests since last year,” he said.

Phase 1 of E911 requires carriers to provide to a PSAP the number of a caller dialing 911 from a cellphone and the location of the cell site or base station receiving the 911 call. Wireless carriers had to provide Phase 1 information by April 1, 1998, or within 6 months of a “valid” PSAP request, whichever came later. Phase 1 of E911 rules requires carriers to supply 911 dispatchers with the location of a cell site or the base station receiving an emergency call. Phase 2 requires more specific automatic location information about a caller. T-Mobile’s Calaff said Wed. the company had just received the decision and was still analyzing its options. “T-Mobile will continue to work with the Commission and all involved parties to ensure T-Mobile E911 Phase 1 service is deployed as soon as possible to requesting and ready PSAPs,” he said.

In an order adopted Mon. and released Tues., the FCC said T-Mobile had met with Commission staff members in May and told them it was out of compliance with Phase 1 rules, leading the Enforcement Bureau to start an investigation. The order said that while T-Mobile said some pending PSAP requests were subject to delays beyond its control, the FCC wasn’t convinced that all the delays were. While Commission policy for such an E911 violation didn’t contain a base forfeiture amount, the order said a “substantial” proposed fine was warranted. “Violation of the E911 rules is extremely serious because these rules are intended to promote safety of life,” the FCC said. T-Mobile earlier had told the Commission it had 531 unmet PSAP requests for Phase 1 that were at least 6 months old from May 1, 2002, to Oct. 1, 2002. Of those, 50 were in areas not covered by T-Mobile. As for 170 of the 531 requests, T-Mobile said the PSAPs weren’t ready to receive and use the location information due to funding issues and implementation problems. It said 116 requests had been delayed by LECs’ unwillingness to provide necessary network upgrades.

Separately, Powell sent a letter this week responding to an earlier one from Senate Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Hollings (S.C.) on outstanding E911 issues. The Powell letter wasn’t available at our deadline. Hollings had expressed concerns to Powell last month that the Commission wasn’t implementing E911 technology fast enough and urging it to enforce its rules aggressively. He expressed particular concern about reports that state-imposed E911 fees paid by consumers weren’t being used to make necessary PSAP upgrades but instead were being diverted to cover other state budget shortfalls.

Powell also wrote to the new Dept. of Homeland Security urging cooperation on E911 issues, an FCC official said. The Hatfield report had suggested that the Commission issue a recommendation that the Homeland Security Dept. provide coordination on E911 issues for local and state public safety first responders.