FCC’s Wireless Bureau outlined parameters of technical inquiry on issues affecting rollout of Enhanced 911 services for wireless callers. In Nov., FCC named former Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Dale Hatfield to head inquiry. Among technical and operational issues that bureau said Tues. it would examine as part of inquiry were: (1) Claims by wireless carriers that network equipment and location-capable handsets weren’t available in time to comply with FCC’s original Phase 2 deployment timelines. FCC granted waivers to 6 national wireless carriers last fall, revising deployment schedules for Phase 2 capabilities. (2) Contentions by carriers that they had difficulty obtaining necessary LEC facility upgrades for Phase 1 deployment, issue that has potential to emerge under Phase 2 roll-outs. Last fall, both public safety groups and carriers such as Sprint PCS highlighted role of LECs in closing E911 connection among wireless subscribers, carriers, databases and public safety answering points. In some cases, LEC cooperation was described as “missing link” in E911 situations. “The focus of this inquiry will be on the future of wireless E911 deployment, including any obstacles to deployment and steps that might be taken to overcome or minimize them,” FCC said. At close of Hatfield’s investigation, he will issue report of his finding that FCC plans to release for public comment. Bureau said it would use findings to evaluate potential obstacles to E911 deployment, consider methods to address these obstacles and “accelerate deployment.” Point of inquiry is to “obtain an expert, informed unbiased assessment” of such issues, FCC said. Scope of investigation will be as broad as needed with information gathered from wide array of sources, including technology and equipment vendors, carriers, public safety community, carriers. Information to be evaluated will include technology standards issues, hardware and software development and supply conditions. FCC has created docket for this inquiry (02-46), in which comments can be submitted.

Ore. Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) vetoed bill (HB-4020) that would have transferred $14 million from dedicated E-911 subaccount to state’s general fund to help balance budget. He called legislation “irresponsible because of the damage that would be caused” to E-911 systems. Kitzhaber said he could support up to $7 million from E-911 fund to help with immediate budget shortfall as last resort if there were no alternative revenue sources available to balance budget. E- 911 fund is supported by tax on phone bills.

Progeny LMS, which owns Location & Monitoring Service (LMS) licenses at 902-928 MHz, petitioned FCC Tues. to provide flexibility to licensees in that band and to change certain restrictions on that spectrum. Progeny, which won LMS licenses in 1999 FCC auction, asked agency to relax restrictions on type and content of messages and spectrum aggregation. Carrier said it wanted Commission to apply “to the LMS band its market-oriented policy of allowing licensees flexibility to offer whatever services the market can support and demand, so long a those operations do not hinder or interfere with the operations of primary users in the band.” Restrictions represent “outmoded approach” to spectrum management, Progeny said. It said service dated to early 1970s, when Commission adopted order allowing introduction of automatic vehicle monitoring service, later renamed LMS. Service was seen as providing tracking and monitoring of large vehicle fleets and providing information to allow vehicles to be better used through dispatch and routing information. In 1999, of 528 LMS licenses that were auctioned, nearly 250 were unsold, Progeny said. “Attempts at implementing this service demonstrate that some modifications are necessary in order for LMS to succeed,” it said. If LMS operators were given additional flexibility by FCC, they could compete with commercial wireless operators, which “are rolling out enhanced 911 location technologies that will provide similar economic and public safety benefits,” Progeny said. Eliminating certain restrictions would allow LMS licensees to offer voice and data messaging services in addition to advanced location technologies, petition said. Progeny urged FCC to consider eliminating or modifying: (1) LMS spectrum cap so single licensee could hold all of LMS licenses in given economic area. (2) Restriction on real-time interconnection with public switched telephone network. (3) Restriction on types of communications services. (4) Safe harbor provision that creates presumption of non-interference for secondary users. Progeny cited additional regulatory flexibility that commercial wireless operators had been granted, including ability to offer range of services. In period of substantial growth for commercial wireless sector, “the 902-928 MHz LMS industry, unfortunately, languished,” Progeny said. “As a result, LMS remains subject to a regulatory scheme born out of political compromises that more appropriately characterize the stratified wireless industry of 1993 than today’s competitively robust wireless industry,” petition said.

Virgin Mobile USA, which plans to resell wireless services provided by Sprint PCS this year, outlined its Enhanced 911 phase-in plans for FCC. Virgin said in Feb. 22 ex parte filing it planned to begin operating as mobile virtual network operator in U.S. in 2nd quarter. U.K.-based Virgin told agency that because it wasn’t FCC licensee and didn’t have its own wireless network facilities, E-911 requirements for automatic location identification (ALI) didn’t apply. “Nevertheless, as a demonstration of its good faith interest in providing E-911 Phase 2 ALI to its customers,” Virgin said it was “voluntarily” providing E-911 report to FCC. Virgin said that as new U.S. wireless provider targeting “low-end” prepaid customers, it must offer very competitive pricing of both service and equipment to develop market share. Handset-based assisted-GPS (A-GPS) system that Sprint is using for E-911 Phase 2 capability uses handsets “that are among the most expensive customer units on the market,” Virgin told Commission. “Moreover, at this time, A-GPS-enabled customer units are not available to Virgin.” Before Virgin can begin selling such handsets to customers, company said equipment has to be more widely available and cheaper so there’s not “tremendous price differential” between handsets with and without this capability. Virgin said it plans to begin selling and activating A-GPS-enabled handsets Feb. 15, 2003, ensuring at least 25% of all new handsets activated after June 30, 2003, have A-GPS capabilities. At least 50% of handsets sold after Sept. 30, 2003, will have this capability, with 100% target set for March 31, 2004. End date for ensuring all handsets activated are GPS-enabled reflects same benchmark that Commission set for Verizon Wireless in its E-911 Phase 2 waiver, Virgin said. Virgin also said it isn’t altering Dec. 31, 2005, date for ensuring 95% of all subscriber handsets in service are ALI-capable.

Wash. House passed telecom tax bill that would allow counties to impose 0.1% general local sales tax to fund establishment or improvement of E-911 systems. New tax would require approval by county’s voters and would be in addition to 911 phone bill surcharges. Bill also would authorize counties to develop joint ventures to colocate 911 systems and facilities. It would require large counties (more than 500,000 population) to make interlocal agreements with large cities within their borders to determine revenue distribution of new tax.

VoiceStream and National Communications System (NCS) told FCC that GSM wireless operators planned to develop “fully featured” wireless priority service (WPS) capability for nationwide rollout by year-end. Complete WPS capabilities then would be available by end of 2003. VoiceStream said it was in final negotiations with NCS to deploy initial WPS system in Washington and N.Y. NCS had planned to award contract for first leg of system by as early as last Dec. System that will be available immediately in those 2 cities will serve 5,000 users with priority status, Feb. 13 filing said. VoiceStream has short-term waiver petition pending before FCC for one technical requirement for priority access service. Commission in 2000 issued order laying out technical requirements for carriers that chose to deploy WPS but agency didn’t made that offering mandatory. Peter Fonash of NCS said in filing that WPS eventually would “be offered by several wireless operators as a public service, further increasing public safety access to WPS and further diluting the nominal impact WPS would have on nonpriority customers.” Govt.-industry engineering effort has been focused on specifications for how comprehensive, industrywide system would operate. One issue for carriers has been how to reach balance between capacity subscribers would have on network during emergencies and capacity set aside for govt. national security and emergency personnel (NS/EP) (CD Dec 17 p2). NCS said: (1) WPS would be accessed only for public safety reasons. (2) “Nominal impact on nonpriority users would be only near the scenes of emergencies.” (3) NCS would monitor WPS usage to detect potential improper usage. In plans for nationwide rollout, GSM operators are developing ways to preserve portion of system capacity for calls that aren’t priorities or 911 requests “if the system were to become ‘monopolized’ by the priority users.” Filing said: “Unlike the wireline service, the wireless industry is severely constrained by the amount of radio spectrum it can use to offer both WPS and nonpriority services.” As result, NCS said balance must be struck between priority users and general public. Filing included research results on behalf of NCS and CTIA by SAIC and Telcordia on impact of WPS. Analysis assumed, based on past performance of wireline Govt. Emergency Telephone System, 15% probability that wireless calls would be blocked during emergencies. If no radio channels were reserved for priority users, blocking probability for wireless calls in emergencies would hit 85.7%, research showed. That probability rises slightly to 89.4% if 25% of radio channels are reserved for NS/EP users, NCS said.

National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) questioned whether Nextel proposal to contribute $25 million to public safety community would impinge on independence of those groups. FCC last year granted requests of Nextel and other carriers for waivers of Enhanced 911 Phase 2 implementation deadlines. In waiver request, Nextel proposed contributing $25 million over 2 years to help public safety community upgrade facilities to process Phase 2 location information. NENA said last week that its executive board still was gathering information on proposal. But it said it believed that grant of operating funds from NENA or Assn. of Public- Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) “would call to question the independence of each organization’s FCC and regulatory representation function on wireless and radio spectrum issues currently and in the future.” NENA said direct grants from wireless carriers to NENA, APCO or related organization “may jeopardize the ability of public safety to speak in an independent and objective manner in the long term.” Both groups could have regulatory positions in future that conflicted with stance of Nextel and other carriers in FCC proceedings, NENA said. “This concern extends to foreseeable radio spectrum issues, as well as the current wireless Phase 2 process that is still fully open and likely to have more issues requiring public safety advocacy,” it said. Group also said it didn’t want to “discourage” Nextel or others from contributing funds to public safety organizations. Instead, it said, it wants parties to create “completely neutral and detached governmental recipient” of funds, such as USTA. That could serve as “granting organization” for funds that Nextel and others would donate, NENA said. Nextel spokeswoman said carrier made $25 million offer to help public safety agencies with E911 implementation “in good faith.” She said: “We are in the early stages of talking to all public safety organizations as to how best to go about implementing this. We have every intention of working cooperatively.”

This is “do-or-die” year for telecom bills in state legislatures. Except in 2 states, all telecom bills pending in 2002 sessions must pass before this year’s adjournment or they're dead. Only in N.J. and Va. can bills from this year carry over to 2003. Accordingly, many state lawmakers are making swift decisions on early telecom measures even as floodgates have opened to new telecom-related legislation. In this report, we're updating status of previously-reported bills and noting significant new legislation that’s recently been introduced. Bills are grouped by subject, with advancing/defeated bills mentioned first in each group.

Now that wireless is becoming alternative communications technology, rather than accessory, policymakers and industry must grapple with issues such as service quality and regulatory parity, panelists said at Precursor Group conference in Washington Wed. Brian Fontes, vp-federal regulations for Cingular Wireless, said one emerging theme at FCC was emphasis on flexibility, which historically had served wireless industry well. “The concept of flexibility is increasingly useful and important,” he said: “The problem is how do you define flexibility.” Several panelists described industry as being at crossroads between regulations designed for less competitive wireline environment and industry that has grown so big that regulatory oversight still is needed. “We have to be mindful to not over- regulate,” NTIA Deputy Asst. Secy. Michael Gallagher said. “There is a tendency when an appliance has reached that level of importance in society to then say well, there needs to be a firmer hand.”

Utah legislature passed bill to eliminate as unnecessary state committee that reviews local govt. use of telecom and information technology for public safety purposes. Under bill (HB-8) sent to Gov. Mike Leavitt (R), Utah Govt. Information Technology Review Committee would be abolished. Panel is composed of representatives from police depts., 911 dispatch systems, fire depts., school transportation systems.