The FCC approved a consent decree in which T-Mobile USA agreed to...

FCC Enforcement Bureau investigation found that in more than 450 cases, T-Mobile hadn’t furnished E911 Phase 1 service within 6 months of a request from a public safety answering point (PSAP). The Commission said at the time that it had granted T-Mobile a waiver for its E911 Phase 2 rules, but that the carrier never sought more time or other relief from Phase 1 rules. The temporary waiver, granted in 2000, gave the carrier more time to deploy a hybrid network and handset- based technology called Enhanced Observed Time Difference of Arrival (EOTD) across its GSM network. T-Mobile subsequently requested changes in the waiver and ultimately told the FCC in March it had decided to establish a network-based solution for Phase 2 instead of EOTD. Under the consent order, T- Mobile agreed to: (1) Roll out Phase 2 technology at a minimum of 1,000 cell sites within 9 months. T-Mobile must give priority to markets with pending PSAP requests that are valid. (2) Deploy Phase 2 solutions for at least 2,000 cell sites within 10 months. (3) Deploy Phase 2 technology for at least 4,000 cell sites and provide Phase 2 service at 2,000 of those sites within 13 months. (4) Deploy Phase 2 technology for at least 6,000 cell sites within 16 months and for at least 8,000 within 19 months. (5) Provide a compliant Phase 2 service to half of PSAP coverage areas or population within 19 months, with all of the coverage areas served within 22 months, for any valid PSAP requests received after April 30, 2003, but before Feb. 28, 2004. (6) Provide Phase 2 service to half of PSAPs’ coverage areas or population within 6 months and 100% of the coverage area within 15 months of receiving the request for valid PSAP requests received after Feb. 28, 2004 As part of the agreement, T- Mobile said that if it missed any of the benchmarks that involved cell site deployment, it would pay $450,000 to the govt. for the first one that was missed, $900,000 for the 2nd and $1.8 million for the 3rd and any after that. “T-Mobile is committed to working with local E911 organizations and all involved parties on the swift implementation of E911 Phase II,” the company said. “It is moving forward expeditiously on its E911 Phase II deployment timeline.” The fine marks the first time the FCC has taken such enforcement action involving a Phase 1 violation of its E911 rules. Previous E91 enforcement moves that involved fines covered Phase 2 compliance, including a $2 million consent decree the FCC approved last fall with AT&T Wireless.