Cingular Wireless CEO Stephen Carter expressed doubts on Capitol Hill Thurs. on whether wireless industry as whole would be able to meet FCC’s Enhanced 911 (E911) location information requirements later this year. Another approach may be to relax location identification standards “akin to what is being used in Europe and let the technology catch up to the accuracy requirements,” he told reporters after Forum on Technology & Innovation lunch. Unlike carriers such as AT&T Wireless and Nextel, Cingular hasn’t requested FCC waiver of Oct. deadline for Phase 2 of E911. Carter said 2nd largest wireless carrier still was conducting technology tests: “We don’t want to quit before we've exhausted every possibility.” Even aside from carriers that have made waiver requests, he said, “I'm not aware of anybody who has said positively ‘we are there.'”

Senate Commerce Committee members are meeting separately with FCC nominees Michael Powell, Kathleen Abernathy, Kevin Martin and Michael Copps in preparation for May 17 confirmation hearing, Senate staffers said. Members Tues. (May 15) and today scheduled informal gatherings “to get to know” candidates and in advance of hearing express views on communications issues that would be tackled under nominees’ tenure at Commission, according to several staffers. “It’s standard procedure to meet in advance” of confirmation hearing, committee spokeswoman said. She wouldn’t rule out possible advance meetings between Chmn. McCain (R-Ariz.) and nominees, but wasn’t aware of specific questions that he intended to address. E-rate and rural network deployment will be focus of questions by committee members, other Senate staffers said.

U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., questioned Tues. how costs of Enhanced 911 upgrades that rural and other wireless carriers pass on to customers are any different from public safety costs faced by other industries such as automakers and airlines. U.S. Cellular Corp., Corr Wireless Communications and Rural Cellular Assn. challenged 1999 FCC decision to eliminate cost-recovery mechanism for carriers as precondition to their obligation to furnish E911 caller location services. Commission lifted that requirement as it related to commercial carriers based on concerns that difficulties with putting state cost recovery legislation into effect were dramatically slowing E911 rollouts. Challenge by rural carriers centered on concerns that compared to larger carriers with urban customer bases, they must spread such costs over smaller subscriber base covering larger areas. But Judges David Tatel and Merrick Garland pressed U.S. Cellular attorney Thomas Van Wazer on how public safety costs and mandates at issue in this case were different from similar requirements imposed on other industries that also must pass on costs to customers. “Don’t auto makers pass that along?” Tatel asked. “Couldn’t Ford say we're not going to install any seatbelts because they are very expensive?”

Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) applauded FCC Wireless Bureau decision last week concerning how certain Enhanced 911 expenses are to be divided between wireless carriers and public safety answering points. Bureau clarified where line is to be drawn for allocating costs of E911 Phase 1 network and database components in letter to King County, Wash., E911 program (CD May 9 p6). Letter stipulated proper demarcation point was input to 911 selective routers that ILECs maintain. “The FCC’s decision will single-handedly cut untold red tape from the process of implementing wireless enhanced 9-1-1 throughout the nation,” said APCO Pres. Lyle Gallagher. APCO pointed out that bureau decision sides with recommendations made by APCO, National Emergency Number Assn., National Assn. of State 911 Administrators.

FCC Wireless Bureau released separate orders Thurs. that require Nextel and AT&T Wireless, which have requested Enhanced 911 Phase 2 implementation waivers, to provide more information related to Phase 2 location technology testing. Nextel in Nov. had asked Commission for waiver of implementation of E911 Phase 2 services in advance of Oct. 1 deadline for making certain location-based information was available to public safety answering points. Nextel had sought waiver of implementation deadline to deploy its handset-based assisted GPS technology. Carrier has told FCC that field trials had shown that technology was only accurate E911 Phase 2 technology available to it. FCC order said Nextel didn’t describe field trials it had carried out, including results. Order sets out questions it wants answered as part of agency’s “ongoing evaluation” of readiness of E911 technologies. Information FCC is seeking includes: (1) List of all tests and studies of E911 Phase 2 location technologies Nextel conducted, including field testing, lab trials, feasibility studies to ascertain whether certain technologies complied with FCC requirements. (2) Results of tests and studies, including accuracy and reliability levels demonstrated in each test. (3) Current and expected availability of each location technology solution tested. (4) Publicly announced plans by Nextel to change air interface standards to CDMA from existing iDEN standard and how those changes would affect E911 Phase 2 deployment. Bureau said it would make that information available to public. Wireless Bureau is seeking similar information from AT&T Wireless, which also has waiver request pending. In separate order on AT&T, bureau also denied carrier’s request that certain information on tests and field evaluations be kept confidential. Bureau said AT&T didn’t meet procedural requirements for confidentiality and didn’t demonstrate by “preponderance of the evidence that the materials in question were entitled to confidential treatment.” Information sought from AT&T Wireless included data supporting its selection of mobile-assisted network location system technology for Phase 2 for its TDMA network. Other details carrier is ordered to provide include: (1) Information on what Phase 2 location technology solution AT&T plans to use for analog wireless phones and test results. (2) “Further information” on planned rollout of GSM network, including timeline, planned discontinuance of service on TDMA network, how GSM network would comply with Phase 2.

Subcommittee of House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee stressed at hearing Wed. need for better data on driver distractions such as cellphones, but generally shied away from advocating restrictions on drivers themselves. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Exec. Dir. Robert Shelton told panel that federal legislation implementing requirements such as hands-free devices “would be premature” because of lack of data on impact of such distractions. “At this point we don’t have data that show this would be the answer,” he said.

La. House passed bill that would restrict public access to audiotapes of 911 calls. Under legislation (HB-825), tapes of 911 calls would be confidential information that could be made public only if subpoenaed. Bill has been sent to Senate. State Rep. Lydia Jackson (D-Shreveport), bill’s sponsor, said it was needed to eliminate widely varying privacy standards that now existed among state’s 64 emergency 911 districts and to deter lurid exploitation of 911 calls. Without subpoena, 911 tapes could be used only by law enforcement agencies and for training of 911 personnel. Tapes also would be available to caller or to parents or guardians of child that called 911. Nothing in legislation would prohibit callers or their families from making tape of their call available to media. Opponents argued that closing 911 records would impair public’s ability to monitor emergency services’ responses to calls, but supporters said other public records could provide such data.

FCC Wireless Bureau clarified Mon. where line is to be drawn for allocating costs of Enhanced 911 Phase 1 network and database components. Bureau Chief Thomas Sugrue, in letter to King County, Wash., E911 program, said “proper demarcation point” for funding between wireless carriers and public safety answering points (PSAPs) was input to 911 selective routers that ILECs maintain. Routers receive 911 calls from LEC central offices and forward them to specific PSAP that serves area of emergency caller. FCC sought comment last year on request of King County E911 entity that wanted clarification on whether financing of certain network and database components of Phase 1 and interface of those elements to existing 911 system was duty of wireless carriers or PSAPs. Under E911 rules, wireless carriers bear costs of hardware and software components that precede 911 selective router, including trunk from carrier’s mobile switching center to 911 router and particular elements needed to implement certain signaling methods for delivering E911 Phase 1 information to PSAPs. PSAPs bear costs of maintaining and upgrading E911 components and functions beyond input to 911 Selective Router, Sugrue said. In comments to FCC, most wireless carriers had argued that PSAP was responsible for upgrades needed to deliver Phase 1 information compatible with existing 911 network, so appropriate demarcation point for funding would be carrier’s mobile switching center. But PSAPs contended appropriate line for determining funding was dedicated 911 selective routers of ILECs. Sugrue stressed to county that FCC still favored negotiations between parties as most efficient way to resolve such cost-allocation disputes. He said Bureau was providing guidance in this instance because King County dispute had remained unresolved since county filed request nearly year ago. Interpretation of FCC’s rules must account for existing E911 wireline network, maintained by ILECs and paid for by PSAPs via tariffs, letter said. “For wireless carriers to satisfy their obligation… to provide Phase 1 information to the PSAP, carriers must deliver that information to the equipment that analyzes and distributes,” Sugrue said, referring to 911 selective router. “We thus agree with parties who believe that the appropriate demarcation point for allocating responsibilities and costs between wireless carriers and PSAPs is the input to the 911 selective router.” Letter said that because rates of wireless carriers weren’t regulated, they had option of covering such Phase 1 costs through charges to customers. Letter said decision didn’t place “entire cost burden” for Phase 1 implementation on wireless carriers, but imposed portion on PSAPs. Sugrue also cited “concerns” of Bureau whether any carrier would choose technology that couldn’t be used by PSAPs in particular area or couldn’t be used to meet upcoming Phase 2 obligations in order to shift costs to PSAPs.

RTNDA joined other media groups in protesting bill in Ore. legislature that would exempt 911 calls from state’s public records law. Measure passed Ore. House and is awaiting Senate action. RTNDA Pres. Barbara Cochran and former Chmn. John Sears, news dir. of KPTV Portland, Ore., wrote Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) and state senators, arguing that purpose of state’s open records law “is to pierce the veil of administrative secrecy and to open agency action to the light of public scrutiny.” Advocates of legislation say it’s needed to protect privacy of 911 callers.

Fla. in fall expects to implement nation’s first comprehensive state telecom tax reform that would consolidate most current state and local telecom taxes into single line item on customer bills. Fla. legislature sent tax bill designed to accomplish reform (SB-1878) to Gov. Jeb Bush (R) along with companion measures that would set up administrative machinery for collecting and distributing consolidated telecom taxes (SB-1540), and safeguard proprietary company information (SB-1836). Bush is expected to sign legislatiion.