Toyota weighed in at the FCC on Enhanced 911 rules, saying the re...

the same under FCC E911 rules as a conventional wireless handset. Last year, OnStar asked the agency for a declaratory ruling on the extent to which telematics units embedded in vehicles were covered under Enhanced 911 rules. In a filing last week, Toyota said making embedded telematics devices and services meet E911 “would likely require equipment manufacturers to engage in a complete redesign of their respective telematics systems, requiring an investment of thousands of engineer hours, and pointed out that manufacturers are already facing a heavy burden in the transition to digital technology for telematics units.” Toyota said it offered an embedded telematics service in certain Lexus models, based on OnStar design specifications. OnStar, in turn, provides the underlying telematics call center service. Toyota raised concerns that the cost of complying with E911 rules would require such expensive new equipment design that some equipment-makers might exit the sector altogether. Toyota also said the FCC had “questionable jurisdiction” in that area because telematics systems weren’t a “commercial mobile service” under the Communications Act: “Telematics is an information service that makes use of telecommunications services.”