Kan. House and Senate conferees said they had reconciled chambers’ differing versions of wireless E-911 funding bill (HB- 2034). They had been divided on whether program to provide funds for automatic location identification on 911 calls from wireless phones should be administered locally (House) or centrally at state level (Senate). Under compromise, wireless companies and local govts. each would get 22.5% of roughly $9 million per year expected from bill’s new 75-cent monthly surcharge per wireless number. Balance of fund would be controlled by administrator named by Kan. Corp. Commission and approved by current Kan. E 911 Board. If both chambers accept compromise, bill will be sent to governor.

Ida. PUC said Qwest had complied with only 3 items on Sec. 271 open market checklist’s requirements that weren’t related to operation support systems (OSS). PUC said Qwest met requirement for nondiscriminatory number administration (item 9), access to network databases for signaling and call routing (10), and local dialing parity (12). Agency said Qwest party met operator access requirement (7) insofar as access to 911 and call-completion goes, but hadn’t met directory assistance access standard of that checklist item. PUC made its decision after reviewing Qwest’s Ida. record and studying report from Liberty Consulting Group, which was chosen by Ida. and 6 other Qwest states as facilitator for joint proceeding on Qwest’s compliance with non-OSS-related requirements of Telecom Act’s 14-point competitive checklist. Besides Ida., other participating states are Ia., Utah, N.M., N.D., Mont., Wyo. Other states in group plan to issue their own evaluations soon. Wyo. PSC plans May 10 hearing on checklist compliance and Mont. PSC is planning a workshop session to be announced later this week. OSS-related checklist items are subject of regionwide test now under way by KPMG Consulting that will wrap up in late summer.

Sprint PCS appears to be in best position among major wireless carriers to comply with FCC’s Oct. 1 deadline for Enhanced 911 Phase 2 implementation, Pulver.com research report said. Report said carriers that were first to implement more specific location information requirements of Phase 2 were likely to exploit that position in advertising. It also said: (1) Verizon Wireless hadn’t asked for waiver of E911 Phase 2 requirements, so it didn’t appear to be off track for implementation. (2) It’s difficult to judge whether Cingular Wireless will meet deadline because carrier has raised possibility of waiver request but hasn’t asked for one. (3) “AT&T Wireless seems to have the least coherent location strategy.” Carrier has requested waiver on accuracy for Mobile Assisted Network Location System technology, report said. (4) Nextel’s initial deployment of Phase 2 is likely to start in Oct. 2002, one year behind original FCC schedule. Report said Sprint PCS appeared to be in best position because it provided detailed implementation information to FCC last Nov. and since then had made several supplier announcements. “Even if one of the major carriers will be ready on Oct. 1, 2001, to fully comply with the FCC E911 directive, the others would have no choice but move quickly and catch up,” Pulver report said.

Wireless carriers lined up at FCC to oppose petition by Richardson, Tex., which wants agency to clarify process by which requests for Phase 2 Enhanced 911 service are made by public safety answering points (PSAPs). Richardson, in petition filed earlier this month, wants Commission to confirm that PSAP makes valid request for such service by informing carrier that necessary equipment upgrades for Phase 2 service will be finalized before delivery of E911 data by carrier and by having adequate cost- recovery mechanism in place to upgrade equipment. Echoing comments of other carriers, Verizon Wireless urged FCC this week to deny petition. PSAPs must be able to receive and use E911 data as condition of valid request, Verizon argued. PSAP must have capability to receive this enhanced location information at time that it makes request to carrier, Verizon told FCC. In part, Verizon said Richardson’s petition doesn’t acknowledge that FCC requirements “balanced the objective of rapid E911 deployment with that of mitigating carrier’s costs and ensuring that PSAPs timely upgrade their own networks.” CTIA also urged Commission to reject Richardson request. “Richardson’s request should be denied because it is bad public policy, it conflicts with the Commission’s rules and the Commission already has addressed the matter.” CTIA argues in comments that policy based on PSAPs’ intention to upgrade their equipment would be faulty, because sometimes such plans don’t materialize and carriers are left sorting through requests from agencies that both have and haven’t completed upgrades.

Carolina PCS I became latest wireless operator to request waiver from FCC’s location accuracy requirements for Enhanced 911 Phase 2. Like recent AT&T waiver petition (CD April 9 p4) Carolina seeks to deploy hybrid approach of network software solution (NSS) and handset technology called Enhanced Observed Time Difference of Arrival (E-OTD)for its GSM network. Company said NSS/E-OTD was same technology VoiceStream Wireless would use under waiver granted by agency last year and it was willing to comply with same conditions for VoiceStream. Specifically, Carolina proposed: (1) To deploy NSS capability by 4th quarter. NSS technology provides 1,000 m radial accuracy for 67% of calls. (2) To assure, in combination with NSS, that 50% of new handsets will be E-OTD capable by Oct. and 100% by March 31, 2002. New E- OTD handsets will provide 100 m accuracy for 67% of calls and 300 m for 95%, company said. (3) To improve accuracy of proposed E- OTD activated after Oct. 1, 2003, to 50 m for 67% of calls, 150 for 95%. (4) To attain 95% penetration of location-capable handsets among subscribers no later than Dec. 31, 2005. Commission established pleading cycle Mon. with comments due May 23, replies June 7.

Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy told FCC in letter last week that Nov. order on Enhanced 911 didn’t comply with Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) because it didn’t adequately address impact on small business. It said conclusions weren’t based on issues raised in initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) and didn’t give small businesses chance to comment on new IRFA, SBA said. SBA told FCC Chmn. Powell that his agency should draft supplemental document to seek comment on impact on small businesses of decision to remove cost-recovery mechanism. Order itself was response to petitions for reconsideration of decision to remove precondition of cost recovery from states to accelerate introduction of E911 services. Originally, carriers were allowed to defer providing 911 operators with ability to automatically locate position of wireless callers. Before cost recovery had been removed as precondition, deferral was predicated on timing of state mechanism to reimburse carriers for costs. Order under scrutiny by SBA upheld FCC decision to require carriers to install automatic locator systems regardless of whether they were reimbursed by state govts. SBA told Powell that because small businesses didn’t have chance to comment on decision to do away with cost-recovery requirement, “the Commission’s rulemaking is grievously in violation of the RFA.” Technical regulatory concerns raised by SBA center on fact that FCC relied on regulatory analysis drafted in earlier order rather than creating separate one for comment on cost-recovery requirement change. Updated analysis should be disseminated “immediately to cure this deficiency,” SBA wrote.

Regulatory authority over unwanted e-mails on wireless devices appears to be murky, with industry groups and consumer advocates questioning whether FTC or FCC potentially have mandate in that area and agencies themselves saying they don’t. Lack of clarity on regulatory purview is expected to drive at least some attention in Congress this year on wireless spam. While spamming incident involving short message service (SMS) on as many as 170,000 mobile phones in Phoenix has drawn widespread attention in recent weeks, analysts and industry representatives said problem still was rare in industry searching for broader consumer use of wireless Internet applications.

Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) stepped up pressure on wireless carriers Wed. to meet upcoming Enhanced 911 deadline by sending letters requesting location technology service in next 6 months. Letters from public safety answering points (PSAPs), which APCO also submitted to FCC, come as several carriers have waiver petitions pending before Commission on Phase 2 of E911. “It’s going to be tough to get a waiver,” FCC Deputy Wireless Bureau Chief James Schlichting told reporters after APCO news conference in Washington. FCC last week opened public comment period on waiver request of AT&T Wireless, which wants to deploy hybrid handset- and network-based solution for pinpointing location of wireless 911 caller (CD April 9 p4). APCO officials also outlined details of national project to have at least one community public safety system in 48 states ready to receive more specific Phase 2 location data by Oct. deadline. APCO Pres. Lyle Gallagher told us association was embarking on project that would involve wireless carriers to resolve new interference issues in public safety bands.

Back-and-forth is continuing at FCC over ultra-wideband (UWB) proceeding, with Sirius Satellite Radio telling Commission Tues. it should ignore advice of Fantasma Networks to split rulemaking between GPS and non-GPS bands. UWB developer Fantasma told agency last week it should bifurcate rulemaking between devices in those 2 bands. Fantasma was responding to letter to FCC from broad group of wireless, GPS, satellite radio and air transport interests that asked agency to not take final action on operation of UWB devices under Part 15 rules without further notice of proposed rulemaking. Fantasma recommended FCC authorize UWB technologies that operated in non-GPS spectrum, splitting off regulatory consideration of technology using GPS spectrum. Sirius argued in latest letter that “Fantasma misunderstands the data in the record concerning interference caused by non-GPS band UWB devices, continues to ignore its own burden of proof in this matter and reached the mistaken conclusion that immediate Commission action is warranted.” Sirius contended testing of impact of UWB devices on non-GPS systems was “hardly complete” and tests to date showed interference with incumbents. Sirius told FCC that NTIA testing found deployment of UWB devices below 3.1 GHz would present interference problems for govt. and commercial systems. It said premature agency action could cause disruption to services such as Enhanced 911 and GPS. Among issues NTIA tests didn’t cover is impact of UWB on commercial receivers such as those of Sirius, said Robert Briskman, co-founder of Sirius. NTIA tests in non-GPS bands focused only on federal receivers, not some of more sensitive systems, he said. One of Sirius’s concerns is that UWB devices “that would be the most bothersome to us are ones that are not yet apparently well-defined,” Briskman said. “Specifically, I am talking about the communications devices and the devices in cars that would sense the distance to other cars,” he told us. Meanwhile, backers of UWB also were lining up at Commission. Intel in ex parte filing last week said further notice sought by group of companies wasn’t needed because: (1) Current proceeding had given commenters ample opportunity to address issues. (2) Ultra-wideband had the potential to become “a very useful technology. Adding administrative process in this case will add needless delay and cost to UWB to the detriment of consumers.” Intel said that “expeditious consideration” by FCC would advance goals of Chmn. Powell “of reforming FCC’s processes to foster innovation and investment.”

National Emergency Number Assn. (NENA) completed testing of caller location system developed by U.S. Wireless, concluding it met Enhanced 911 (E911) Phase 2 requirements. NENA is evaluating and reporting on availability of wireless location technologies and their ability to meet Oct. deadline for E911 Phase 2 set by FCC. NENA represents 7,000 public safety workers who manage primary 911 call centers. “After this testing, we are confident that there are existing location technologies meeting FCC requirements,” NENA Exec. Dir. Mark Adams said. “E911 is critical for public safety and its implementation must not be delayed.” Assn. tested U.S. Wireless solution last month in Seattle, including areas with dense urban, residential, light industrial and freeway environments. Separately, Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) reiterated its “disappointment” Tues. with waiver request filed last week by AT&T Wireless at FCC seeking permission to deploy hybrid network and handset solution for E911 Phase 2. “While APCO will review carefully the details of the AT&T Wireless request, we are troubled not only because yet another carrier has decided to seek a waiver, but also in terms of what it means for the safety of our nation’s citizens,” APCO Pres. Lyle Gallagher said. APCO is holding news conference today (Wed.) in Washington to present letters to FCC from public safety answering points in U.S. cities requesting wireless E911 services from wireless carriers.