APCO encouraged the FCC to ask questions about whether to require carriers be able to report floor levels of emergency calls to 911, in a draft Further NPRM set for a commissioner vote March 15 (see 1902220062). The draft proposes carriers be required to identify a vertical location accuracy metric, also known as the z-axis, of plus or minus 3 meters for 80 percent of indoor wireless calls to 911. “Identifying the floor level is qualitatively different from achieving floor level accuracy, and would better ensure that z-axis information is actionable,” the group said. Actionable means 911 call takers can quickly use the information “to assist the caller and direct responders to the scene,” APCO said in docket 07-114. Also Tuesday, CTIA said the wireless industry’s location technologies test bed is inviting technology vendors to participate in vertical positioning accuracy testing. CTIA is looking at existing and emerging technologies, said Test Bed Vice President Tom Sawanobori. The next stage “will help us evaluate new technologies that could be critical to helping 9-1-1 professionals and first responders save lives,” he said.

Windstream's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is "concerning," given its status as a large internet and voice service provider, said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks Tuesday. "I will be monitoring the situation closely to ensure that there are no disruptions," he said, citing Windstream's provision of 911 and broadband services, and receipt of USF support. He's thankful Windstream "took immediate steps to ensure that it can continue to operate." Wireline Bureau Chief Kris Monteith made similar comments Monday (see 1902250058). The Communications Workers of America plan "to take an active part" in the bankruptcy proceeding to reorganize the telco's debt. "We are assessing the details as they emerge and have retained an experienced law firm to help protect the interests of our members and retirees," said a release posted Tuesday, noting CWA represents about 1,200 active members at Windstream locations. Windstream sought bankruptcy protection Monday after a recent court reversal in a bondholder dispute. The U.S. District Court of Southern New York awarded bondholder Aurelius Capital Management a $310 million judgment over the telco's spinoff of telecom network assets into Uniti Group (ticker: UNIT), a real estate investment trust, and their leaseback arrangements (see 1902190043). "While we are one pivotal event through the decision tree, and at current levels there are various upside opportunities for UNIT shares, there is simply too much process risk, too little visibility, and outcome variance far too wide (i.e. payment cut can range) to recommend the stock," Cowen analyst Gregory Williams wrote investors Tuesday. "What’s ultimately at stake for UNIT shares is the level of rental cuts, if any, that the company could incur through the Windstream restructuring process." Uniti's proposed deal related to Bluebird Network (see 1901150052) involving Otto Maly was granted antitrust clearance under an FTC early termination notice posted Monday. Maly is chairman of Maly Commercial Realty. Moody's downgraded Windstream's probability of default rating to "D-PD from Caa3-PD" Tuesday and said it subsequently will withdraw its ratings for the company due to the Chapter 11 filing.

ANNAPOLIS -- The Maryland Senate Finance Committee heard testimony Wednesday on SB-339, designed to push the state into next-generation 911. Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D) introduced the bill, which honors Carl Henn, who was struck by lightning and died when he couldn’t reach 911. Supporters of the legislation, many of them in uniform, packed a hearing room.

Windstream expects to continue operating normally after its Chapter 11 filing Monday seeking to restructure debt in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (see 1902250025). The FCC welcomed the assurance but vowed to remain vigilant on potential USF and 911 ramifications. Others suggested more Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings are possible and cited difficult economics for rural-oriented telcos. Some had suggested Windstream could seek Chapter 11 after a federal district court reversal in its dispute with bondholder Aurelius Capital Management (see 1902190043). Moody's Friday downgraded the carrier (see 1902220057) .

The FCC has shifted stances in its draft repacking reimbursement order and proposes using FY 2019 reimbursement dollars to pay back low-power TV, translator and FM stations as well as using the $200 million from FY 2018. The draft order was released Friday along with the tentative agenda. It includes items on spectrum horizons and other 5G changes, a proposal for new 911 wireless location accuracy requirements, a draft order setting intermediate carrier standards for rural call completion and rules on reauthorization of broadcast satellite stations.

The FCC will take up an order at the March 15 commissioners’ meeting setting aside a big chunk of spectrum across four bands, above 95 GHz, for 5G, Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday. With President Donald Trump also tweeting about 5G (see 1902210057), Pai blogged that 5G is the meeting’s key focus. The agenda also includes 900 MHz rules and media modernization and repacking reimbursement orders. Also on the agenda: spectrum partitioning, disaggregation and spectrum leasing rules, tougher requirements for locating wireless calls to 911 and intermediate carrier standards to improve rural call completion. Draft items are to be released Friday.

The Lifeline National Verifier (NV) should “not be transitioned until the verifier is provided access" to the Medicare and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program databases, California Public Utilities Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves told FCC commissioners and the Wireline Bureau in meetings last week. The CPUC member met separately Monday and Tuesday during the NARUC conference with Chairman Ajit Pai, Commissioners Mike O’Rielly, Brendan Carr, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, and Telecom Access Policy Division Chief Ryan Palmer, said ex-parte letters in docket 11-60. Some federal Lifeline revisions could harm the California program, “especially if done without a proper transition,” said Guzman Aceves, who raised concerns about the NV, program budget and the FCC’s proposal to limit Lifeline to facility-based providers. Lifeline was a hot topic at the NARUC conference, where commissioners agreed to a resolution urging the FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) ensure the NV accesses state databases required to automatically check user eligibility (see 1902130052). In commissioner meetings, Guzman Aceves also discussed CPUC efforts to prevent wildfires and the need to increase communications infrastructure resiliency. Hardware was to blame for most 911 system failures in 2018, which could be prevented with adequate investment and maintenance, she said. The CPUC wants to find areas of joint jurisdiction with the FCC “to restore wireless as infrastructure burns and address first responder concerns like the need for backup power for 911 selective routers,” she said. Guzman Aceves told the bureau and commissioners she wanted to better align the California Advanced Services Fund with the federal Connect America Fund. The California commissioner “described the challenges and drain on resources the CPUC has faced in obtaining data regarding whether an area is served as the carriers will not provide information on where they are building.” The FCC "could help substantially with this transparency issue by requiring USAC to collect data at the most granular level possible (address level), in order to avoid duplication of work at the state level for verifying if an area is in fact served or not,” she said.

Chairman Ajit Pai cited FCC action timelines and other efforts to improve 911 calling and responses as part of an "all-of-the-above" approach to public-safety communications. He expects to adopt rules later this year on Kari's Law provisions to require building and campus multiline telephone systems to let users dial 911 directly, he said in remarks at a National Emergency Number Association event Friday. The FCC is working to meet a September deadline for implementing a Ray Baum's Act mandate to ensure "dispatchable location" information is conveyed with 911 calls, regardless of technology. He expects to move later this year on a "Z-axis accuracy" standard in a proceeding aimed at pinpointing wireless 911 callers' vertical location in multistory buildings. He said the FCC is reviewing how best to improve wireless 911 call routing -- plagued by "upwards of tens of thousands" misrouted calls -- to ensure it's based on the location of callers and not cell towers. Pai said wireless providers are "making meaningful progress" toward meeting "stringent" location accuracy standards on 70 percent of calls in 2020 and 80 percent in 2021 to help responders find the callers. Since some states continue to divert 911 fee funds to other purposes, he's ready to work with Congress and stakeholders to ensure all such fees strengthen public safety communications. Pai's "continued engagement will keep pressure on those states stealing critical 9-1-1 fees to change their awful ways & prevent new states/territories from joining," tweeted Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. "New Congressional action would be welcome for habitual states that divert (NY, NJ & RI)."

The FCC North American Numbering Council is leaning toward handing the agency a list of what it doesn't recommend regarding feasibility of designating a three-digit dialing code for a suicide prevention and mental health hotline, including opposing repurposing any existing N11 number. It likely won't recommend to the agency what it should do, though some members say repurposing 611 makes sense.

Commissioners approved 5-0 a Connect America Fund order to transition from legacy, Phase I price-cap incumbent telco support to CAF II support won at auction last year. As some expected (see 1902130054), the FCC stuck to a draft decision to decline a USTelecom proposal for interim voice support in certain areas, though it did make tweaks in response to ILEC requests. At Thursday's meeting, members also unanimously approved an IP captioned telephone service order, Further NPRM and order aimed at enhancing program management, combating abuse and improving emergency call management.