CTIA, AT&T, Google, Verizon and T-Mobile representatives spoke with an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Public Safety Bureau staff on the most recent vertical location accuracy testing. The work with Google shows “device-based solutions offer promise to meet the goal of providing accurate Z-axis location information with indoor wireless 9-1-1 calls,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 07-114.
Domestic violence calls to 911 continue to rise amid the coronavirus even though more public safety answering points report lower call volume overall, the National Emergency Number Association reported Monday. NENA polled about 500 emergency number professionals. Nearly half said dispatches increased for domestic violence incidents; more than 40% said dispatches about disturbed persons rose. About 75% reported decreasing 911 call volume over the past three weeks, compared with half in a NENA report last month (see 2004130032). About 39% said their PSAP had quarantined or sent home employees due to either COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test.
Increased pressure on states and counties to upgrade 911 systems amid the COVID-19 pandemic could mean that by 2025, contracts will be closed to cover 85% of the population with next-generation 911, up from 48% at the end of last year, Frost & Sullivan said Wednesday. Population covered by deployed networks could jump to about 69% from 31% over the same period, though not all the networks may be in live usage, the report's author Brent Iadarola told us. Possible federal funding for NG-911 through coronavirus response bills could boost growth, F&S said. It forecasts the revenue opportunity will grow to $836 million by 2025 from $441.6 million in 2019.
AT&T challenged a possible $3.75 million fine for not providing next-generation 911 in California. The proposed decision by California Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer (see 2004020058) “would fine AT&T for failing to comply with a law that does not exist: a requirement to tariff ‘access to’ 911,” the carrier wrote Monday in docket R.18-03-011. The law requires tariffing of only basic service that “inherently includes access to 911,” it said. AT&T’s network engineering expert made no misrepresentations to the CPUC, the carrier said. It’s unlawful to fine for inadequately responding to the Communications Division’s letters, AT&T said. The proposed decision “fails to address the factors it legally must consider and dramatically overstates the duration of the alleged violations,” it added.
The Disaster Distress Helpline had a big jump in traffic attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, though other emergency helplines haven't had increases, administrators told us. The pandemic could intensify a push for implementation of 988 as the nationwide three-digit suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline because of the need for an easy-to-remember accessible service, said Vibrant Emotional Health President Kim Williams. Lawmakers are pushing for Capitol Hill leaders to include the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act (HR-4194/S-2661) in the next COVID-19 stimulus legislative package.
The FCC is seeking to better assess emergency communications reliability by adding data fields to the network outage reporting and 911 reliability certification systems, the Public Safety Bureau said. On an FCBA CLE webinar, also Monday, T-Mobile officials raised some related cautions. North Carolina, meanwhile, hasn’t faced major challenges with emergency-call delivery amid the coronavirus but can't “let our guard down,” the state’s 911 Board Executive Director Pokey Harris said in a Thursday interview.
Emergency 911 calls are down in Washington, D.C., despite the pandemic, said D.C. Office of Unified Communications Director Karima Holmes on FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s podcast released Wednesday. Calls from people who are sick may go up, but other kinds of calls are decreasing with people staying home, she said. Nationwide, calls to 911 surged in COVID-19 hot spots but are low elsewhere (see 2004130032). The district hasn’t had a drop in staffing, Holmes said. She and Rosenworcel supported the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act. HR-1629/S-1015 would change the federal government's classification of public safety call takers and dispatchers to "protective service occupations” (see 2002120051).
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a 911 dispatching bill opposed by county public safety officials (see 2001240050). S-7171, enacted Friday, allows certain public universities to route calls from multiline telephone systems to on-campus answering points rather than directly connect them to public safety answering points. Counties remain concerned that on-campus dispatchers lack adequate training and that the law conflicts with Kari’s Law and Ray Baum’s Act, said Steuben County 911 Director David Hopkins.
State regulators will scrutinize Frontier Communications as the midsize carrier goes through bankruptcy, commissioners told us Wednesday. Some felt reassured by the company pledging uninterrupted service and no change to selling some systems in the U.S. Northwest and West.
ISPs are adopting evolving protocols to help keep service technicians and residential customers safe during COVID-19, they said in interviews last week. Actions include screening customers for their risk of exposure to the virus before scheduling a truck roll, equipping tech staff with personal protective gear, limiting repair work to what can be done outside, and promoting self-installation and repair. Even before the pandemic, cable operators and telcos sought to limit how frequently they send staff to customers' homes.