The FCC Tues. opened its Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, with veteran FCC official Ken Moran as acting bureau chief. Ordered in March, the bureau has a staff of 90, most already reassigned from elsewhere at the FCC -- making it the agency’s smallest bureau, comparable in size to the FCC Office of Engineering & Technology.

Chmn. Martin said in response to questions from Sen. Nelson (D-Fla.) that the FCC will launch the Public Safety Bureau on Sept. 26. Nelson sent Martin questions after his confirmation hearing last week. “The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau will be charged with addressing all of the on-going 911 issues at the Commission,” Martin said. “The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau will coordinate closely with the existing bureaus that have traditionally worked on 911 issues” the Wireline and Wireless bureaus.

Sun. marked 6 months since an FCC order creating the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau. The FCC seems close to opening the bureau, probably with a chief hired from outside the Commission staff. An FCC official said Fri. the Commission received approval from House appropriators in late Aug. to open the bureau and from Senate appropriators last week. The Commission has already worked out any union issues and a formal opening is likely this month, the source said. Sen. Nelson (D-Fla.) asked Chmn. Martin for an update on the bureau in written questions after his Commerce Committee confirmation hearing last week. “What is the status of that bureau and will that bureau be charged with addressing all or some of the ongoing 911 issues at the FCC, or will some issues remain in existing bureaus?” Nelson asked. A regulatory lawyer said creating the bureau has taken longer than expected. “But I don’t know what all they had to go through with the union and the Hill,” the source said: “It may be that’s the best they can do because of factors that aren’t under their control.” When the FCC voted to approve the bureau, officials indicated start-up would likely take about as long as the last major reorganization. That was less than 3 months.

Public safety officials welcomed the VoIP E-911 legislation (S-1063) that the Senate approved Thurs. (CD Sept 14 p1) as part of the port security bill. The Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International said it was pleased that the Senate struck out provisions which would have given companies waivers from complying with E-911 requirements and delayed enforcement. APCO said it plans to work to ensure the provisions aren’t added back in during conference on the bill, according to a statement by Pres. Wanda McCarley. NENA also welcomed the legislation: “Ensuring that 911 service is available and effective for all Americans today and in the future as technology advances is a top priority for NENA,” said Pres. Bill Munn.

The Senate late Wed. passed the VoIP E-911 bill (S-1063) as part of a manager’s package of port security legislation moving through that chamber. Sponsored by Sen. Nelson (D- Fla.), the VoIP E-911 bill would require telco networks to give VoIP providers access to 911 services. The bill no longer has waiver provision Sen. Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) had opposed, or a grandfather clause that would have let noncompliant operators keep offering service.

A 3-judge panel of the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. peppered lawyers from both sides with questions Tues. in an appeal by Nuvio and other VoIP operators of the FCC’s May 2005 requirement that such companies provide subscribers 911 within 120 days.

AT&T accused CTIA of trying to gain special privileges for wireless carriers, in its comments on a rulemaking released with the final report of the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks. AT&T also took issue with NENA’s contention that all 911 system service providers should be required to analyze the redundancy of their 911 networks and tell the FCC about possible gaps.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Private corporate phone networks seem safe for now from FCC VoIP E-911 rules -- but only because the agency is relaxed about it, not because the regulations were written to apply to service providers alone, an expert said Tues. “The current administration isn’t very rigorous” in enforcing E-911 or any other rules, attorney Andrew Brown said at the VoiceCon show here. And federal telecom bills stalled over net neutrality wouldn’t impose E-911 duties on end users, either, he said.

Qwest in Wyo. said it will upgrade its 911 transmission system with additional redundant circuits to prevent a repeat of an Aug. 1 incident where a cut cable knocked out E-911 and interexchange service on 134,000 of Qwest’s 200,000 lines in Wyo for several hours. But Qwest said its plans don’t include expansion of capacity. Currently, all 911 traffic flows in one direction along a single interoffice backbone path; if it’s severed, all downstream service is cut off. Qwest said it plans to split the 911 and interexchange traffic into 2 backbone paths routed in opposite directions so if one path is cut, the other can take over all traffic. The Wyo. PSC said Qwest’s announcement won’t halt a planned investigation into the massive 911 outage. Staffers said the process will be “fairly intensive” and may include discovery requests and hearings. The outage occurred when a Qwest contractor installing new underground lines in Cheyenne sliced through a main fiber artery.

New technology, or even new uses for old technology like voice mail, could greatly improve communications in disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, several organizations told the FCC in comments this week. “Policy makers and public safety officials alike should be attuned to the value that IP technologies bring to first responder and emergency communications,” said Cisco Systems.