The FCC ‘reasonably’ rejected a request by Nuvio and other VoIP p...

providers didn’t offer an alternative date to the FCC’s Nov. 28 deadline and instead suggested “they should be left to their own devices -- under an entirely undefined schedule that could take ‘years’ -- to implement 911 services,” the FCC told the court. The brief was filed in reply to the VoIP providers’ request that the court review the FCC’s VoIP E-911 order (05-1248). “Recognizing the critical public interests at stake, the Commission reasonably rejected this recipe for unwarranted delay,” the agency said. “The Commission’s predictive judgment, which balances the imperative public interest in reliable VoIP 911 service against the burden imposed on IVPs (interconnected VoIP providers) by refusing to delay compliance, has been borne out by events,” the agency said: “More than 200 IVPs have filed letters with the FCC describing their compliance with the order’s requirements. According to an initial assessment by Commission staff, more than half of the IVPs that submitted compliance letters reported that they are now providing compliant E911 service to 90 percent or more of their subscribers… The record in this proceeding revealed a patently unacceptable situation. Many IVPs -- including petitioners -- were systematically routing their subscribers’ 911 calls to PSAPs’ administrative telephone numbers, which are not equipped to handle requests for emergency assistance.”