FCC Agrees to Seek More Comments on Rules for Texting 911
The FCC approved a further notice of proposed rulemaking asking a battery of questions about how the commission can best make sure that all wireless subscribers will one day be able to send emergency text messages to 911 public safety answering points. But Commissioner Robert McDowell warned that even with the agency’s actions on text-to-911, widespread ability to send emergency text messages to 911 call centers could be many years way. Last week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that the four major carriers, public safety groups and the FCC had agreed to put in place by June 30 a mechanism for sending bounce back notifications to subscribers when text-to-911 is unavailable in their area, telling them they should instead call 911 (CD Dec 10 p1). Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile also agreed to make their networks capable of transmitting texts to 911 call centers by May 15, 2014.
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The further notice builds on that agreement, asking questions on such topics as how to write rules that also require all carriers and interconnected text message providers to send bounce back messages when text is not supported in a given area. The further notice recommends rapid implementation to avoid confusion, FCC officials said Wednesday. The notice explores whether it’s feasible to require all carriers, large and small, to meet the May 15, 2014, deadline agreed to by the big four carriers. The notice does not require PSAPs to accept emergency texts.
The Wednesday order and last week’s agreement “send a clear message to PSAPs and the jurisdictions that support them that it is worthwhile to prepare to receive emergency text messages because if they do most citizens will soon be capable of sending them,” said Public Safety Bureau Chief David Turetsky. “Text-to-911 is such an important public safety matter, not because a text should be used in place of a call to 911 -- it shouldn’t be -- but because it can help when a voice 911 call may not be possible for people with hearing or speech disabilities, situations where a voice call could put a victim in danger or during disasters when network congestion may permit text messages to go through when calls won’t."
McDowell said he wanted to sound a note of caution. The FNPRM “should not be misconstrued by anyone that from this day forward consumers can actually text to public safety and expect a response,” he said. “That’s simply not possible today in most places. The last results today I want emanating from this notice is consumers, who may soon end up in a dire circumstances, to have the incorrect expectation that they can summon emergency responders via text, based on what we are doing today. We are merely laying the groundwork for future action, but we are still very far from that goal."
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn acknowledged that “the vast majority of Americans” are not aware that they cannot send texts to 911. “When industry demonstrates a credible willingness to achieve these important policy goals, we should give it the flexibility which may be needed to meet those goals in a cost effective manner,” she said. “It is in that spirit that I wish to commend four nationwide wireless carriers ... for memorializing a document that commits them to improving the safety of mobile wireless consumers. ... Despite these voluntary commitments, I am very pleased the chairman decided to circulate this further notice, that proposes to adopt the voluntary commitments, as final rules, and intends to finalize those rules next year."
"It is very important for the news media and the public to recognize that neither the Commission’s action today nor last week’s agreement will make text-to-911 service available to all consumers by a date certain,” said the National Emergency Number Association in a statement. “That will depend on the deployment of hardware, software, and training at the more than 6,000 911 centers across America, and progress will vary from one community to the next.
AT&T, which had raised concerns that all text messages should be subject to the bounce back requirement (CD Nov 29 p1), supported the order. “The FCC’s action today to take further comment on text-to-911 is an important first step towards addressing how public safety obligations will be melded into new and emerging communications technologies,” said Senior Vice President Bob Quinn (http://xrl.us/bn54xq). “These new services are replacing the [plain old telephone service] services consumers have used for the last century. As this transition continues, the Commission must establish a framework that ensures that consumers can continue to reach emergency services when necessary. Suggestions that the FCC can achieve that goal by imposing public safety obligations only on legacy network technologies or services ignore the reality of the breadth by which consumers are adopting these new technologies.”