Today’s surcharge model for funding 911 won’t support extension t...

others outside a service area don’t pay for 911 services, APCO said. “While the surcharge model had a measure of appropriateness in years past, the expansion of access to 911 services at the public safety answering point (PSAP) from other devices and technology has created a pattern of diminishing revenue amidst increased expectation of service,” it said. APCO said all technology and service providers should participate in appropriate 911 funding models. This “may require that states should not be preempted from regulatory authority over emerging communications technologies that enable consumers to access 911,” said APCO, noting that proposals to let industry solve E-911 problems itself, on its own timetable, hadn’t produced “acceptable” results. Providers must ensure that “every ‘call’ to 911 is effectively routed, arrives with appropriate location data and call back number,” and must be “required to ensure that the service has contributed to the 911 operational costs associated with the class of service,” APCO said.