The FCC extended until Oct. 28, 2006 a Dec. 31 deadline for 7 Tie...
The FCC extended until Oct. 28, 2006 a Dec. 31 deadline for 7 Tier III wireless carriers using handset- based solutions to hit 95% penetration among subscribers with location-capable handsets. The FCC reset the deadline in response to waiver…
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requests by Mid-Missouri Cellular, Lyrix, North West Missouri Cellular Limited Partnership, Cellular 29 Plus and 3 firms in the Ill. Valley Cellular Partnership. Relief came under the Enhanced 911 Act, under which the Commission must grant E- 911 waivers on penetration rate if strict enforcement could “result in consumers having decreased access to emergency services.” That’s a risk for Tier III carriers, often active in rural areas where analog coverage often is better than digital. “If required to transition analog subscribers to digital CDMA handsets in the most rural portions of their service areas, some subscribers would be unable to complete a phone call at all, including emergency calls,” the FCC said. The applicants didn’t show a “clear path to full compliance” with the E-911 Phase II rules, as the agency’s traditional E-911 waiver standard requires. The FCC conditionally granted the waivers under the Enhanced 911 Act, which is specific to Tier III carriers. As a condition of the relief, the FCC said it expected petitioners to “actively inform and educate their customers concerning the advantages of having location-capable handsets, and to keep the PSAPs located within their service areas abreast of their progress in achieving 95% penetration.” The FCC required each petitioner to file quarterly status reports for 2 years starting Nov. 1.