President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration is likely to boost prospects for a major infrastructure spending package, supporters of increased federal broadband spending told us. They welcome that change after hopes for progress were dashed during President Donald Trump’s administration. Lawmakers in both parties are hopeful but believe questions about how to pay for the additional infrastructure will remain a major sticking point amid expectations there will still be divided control of Congress (see 2011040052).

"What's the location of your emergency?" asked a District of Columbia Office of Unified Communications 911 call taker on June 5 just before 4 p.m. The caller, crying as she reported that her 59-year-old mother passed out after experiencing chest pains, answered, “414 Oglethorpe Street Northeast.”

The Office of the D.C. Auditor chose Federal Engineering for its audit of the Office of Unified Communications, an ODCA spokesperson said Tuesday. ODCA aims to execute a contract by Monday, Auditor Kathy Patterson wrote to the 911 consulting firm. Communications Daily plans a further story on OUC 911 dispatching accuracy in Thursday's issue.

NARUC’s Telecom Committee supported lowering phone rates for the incarcerated and asking the FCC to share network outage reporting system (NORS) information with states. At the NARUC virtual annual conference Tuesday, the panel also created a subcommittee on states' eligible telecom carrier authority, as expected (see 2011050051). The committee tweaked the inmate calling service resolution to appease some members’ concerns about lobbying legislatures. A day earlier, ICS providers differed on whether and how the California Public Utilities Commission should regulate intrastate rates.

Public safety groups said don’t delay timelines the FCC commissioners approved in July for finding the vertical location of wireless callers to 911 (see 2007160055). CTIA sought reconsideration in September, citing COVID-19 delays (see 2009290024). The order affirms the 2021 and 2023 z-axis requirements and rejects a proposal to weaken them. APCO, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, National Sheriffs’ Association and others opposed the recon petition. “Achieving three-meter accuracy for 80% of calls has been shown to be technically feasible,” the groups said: “Carriers cannot be permitted to alter the timeline based on a desire for additional, late-stage testing, regardless of the reason that this testing has not been possible.” CTIA says carriers haven’t integrated solutions into devices, they said. “This wrongly attempts to absolve the carriers of their ability and responsibility to influence the capabilities of devices operating on the carriers’ own networks,” the groups said. The pandemic had “dramatic effects” on the U.S., but “CTIA overstates” the problem, said the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters and Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association. “In the spring, many buildings were shut due to the pandemic,” they said: “However, states have been opening public buildings and even schools across the nation since May. Private buildings have likewise been opening for use. It would seem that handsets could be tested in buildings in a socially distanced manner.” Comments were posted Wednesday in docket 07-114. Apple said testing of its technology is unlikely before April (see 2011040026). CTIA didn't comment.

Baller Stokes says its Jim Baller, Sean Stokes and Casey Lide join Keller and Heckman as partners, Keller and Heckman says they join telecom practice; Lide tells us that rather than being a combination of the firms, Baller Stokes "is being wound down" ... Teradata board moves Molly Treese to chief legal officer, succeeding Laura Nyquist, retiring; Erica Hausheer, ex-3D Systems, named chief information officer.

Emergency dispatchers in the nation's capital appear to be struggling with properly sending ambulances to scenes where help is needed, radio traffic we observed via OpenMHZ showed Tuesday. In routing ambulances to a motor vehicle accident and to a separate report of an apartment building fire, there appeared to have been delays of about five minutes each. This all occurred around 2 p.m. EST. A 911 dispatcher was told by ambulance staff, five minutes after the apparent dispatch of rescue personnel, that "we have not been dispatched. It doesn’t say anything." The ambulance employee suggested to the 911 center operator that "you can resend it, and then we can be on our way." That then occurred. In the response to the fire report, an ambulance sent there said it was instead on a different call and couldn't go to the new scene. There have been technological problems at the city's 911 center after a possible tech or equipment upgrade or update (see our Oct. 30 report here). "8 days after the disastrous upgrade & 1 week after the great meltdown DC 911 still can't keep track of what ambulances are available," tweeted local emergency communications expert Dave Statter. "This is delaying 911 help. Many @dcfireems units are still having tablet issues." We observed similar as well. Washington, D.C.'s Office of Unified Communications, which runs the 911 center, didn't comment last week or Tuesday. For more information on any technical or equipment issues occurring in recent days at OUC, we filed a Freedom of Information Act request Tuesday. Local police continue to say they are unaffected by any issues. Representatives for D.C. Fire and EMS, city council Judiciary and Public Safety Committee Chair Charles Allen (D), and interim Deputy Mayor-Public Safety and Justice Roger Mitchell didn't comment Tuesday.

Punishing state 911 fee diverters could worsen funding problems for the emergency call system and might be ineffective, commented local and public safety groups this week in docket 20-291. Penalizing local governments for states’ decisions is “much like sending your daughter to bed without dinner because your son took a cookie from the jar without permission,” the National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA) responded to the FCC notice of inquiry. “The two siblings are related, but the response is not.”

With the greatly diminished voice transmission market power of ILECs, their possession of copper loops is hardly meaningful, so the FCC sensibly ended the requirement they provide copper wire services to competitors at subsidized pricing. That's per the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday as it rejected Incompas and California Public Utilities Commission challenges to a 2019 forbearance order (see 2003260040).

Do more to discourage states and local governments from diverting 911 fees, CTIA said in a filing posted Monday in docket 20-291. Comments were due Monday on a notice of inquiry (see 2009300050) approved 5-0 in September. It is critical that the $2.6 billion in 9-1-1 fees collected annually from wireless consumers be used for their intended purpose of improving 9-1-1 services,” CTIA said. Further action could include “providing guidance as to what expenditures qualify as ‘in support of’ 9-1-1 and encouraging other federal agencies to condition grant funding on non-diversion of 9-1-1 funds,” the group said: “Simply identifying diverting states has not been sufficient.” Refrain from rules putting new requirements on carriers, including reporting diversion under FCC truth-in-billing rules, the association asked.