What You Need to Know About the FCC´s New E911 Requirements for VOIP

By Rosalink K. Allen (Washington, D.C.)

Chairman Martin presided over his first FCC Agenda Meeting on May 19, 2005. The focus was on a single topic that is among the most controversial facing the FCC today: does the public interest require that specific E911 obligations be established for the emerging VOIP industry? The FCC's answer was a resounding "yes" for particular types of IP-enabled voice applications. Pulling together a long history of FCC and legislative actions relating to 911, the FCC found that one of the agency's most important mandates is to protect each consumer's right to a high-quality, reliable 911 network. The FCC cannot and will not allow new technologies to interfere in any way with that basic right.

The May 19 decision declared an end to sole reliance on voluntary, industry-led efforts to design and implement E911 solutions for VOIP. Specific compliance deadlines were set to ensure that all VOIP telephony subscribers are included in the E911 safety net as soon as possible. Finally, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to explore forward-looking issues of how to best meet the emergency communications needs of VOIP subscribers as the technology continues to evolve.

In many ways, this decision builds on the FCC's game plan for Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) E911 requirements. Mobile telephony was quickly embraced by the consumer mass market because it was free to develop in a largely deregulated environment with no state entry and rate regulation. Nonetheless, the FCC recognized consumers had a reasonable expectation that mobile telephony should be able to provide E911 access, and indeed, the public interest in the safety and welfare of all Americans required the FCC to make sure that CMRS timely provided E911. The reasons for imposing E911 obligations on interconnected VOIP providers are the same, and can build on the infrastructure put in place for wireline and wireless services. Imposing this public interest obligation on interconnected VOIP providers does not mean that the FCC has suddenly taken an overly regulatory approach to IP-enabled services. While the FCC does not take a position at this time on the overall regulatory framework for IP-enabled services, it is evident that the FCC views CMRS as a promising framework: new competitors can thrive within a streamlined regulatory framework that imposes the basic public interest requirements that all consumers of telephony have rightly come to expect.

Scope of the New E911 Rules

The rules apply to IP-enabled voice applications that allow subscribers to do all of the following:

• engage in real-time, two-way voice communications
• use the service by plugging customer premises equipment into a broadband connection at the subscriber''s location
• receive calls from the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and place calls that terminate on the PSTN

The rules do not apply to so-called peer-to-peer VOIP offerings, where subscribers are only able to communicate with one another over the IP platform. Those types of VOIP services meet the first two criteria but not the third, and as a result, subscribers have no expectation of being able to place a 911 call. The rules also don''t apply to interactive IP-enabled services that may make some use of voice but never provide two-way interconnected voice services. Examples of the latter are Internet gaming and messaging.

The FCC does, however, take several opportunities to remind VOIP providers that the cuts it makes today are prompted by the need for an immediate E911 solution and applicability of the E911 rules may change over time. Because VOIP is still in the early stages of deployment, both technology and service bundles are likely to undergo changes that, in turn, are also likely to change consumer expectations for accessing 911 services. Interpretation of the rules and the rules themselves should therefore be viewed as dynamic.

Requirements for Those Within the Scope

The FCC adopted basic E911 requirements in keeping with the stated need for an immediate solution. All interconnected VOIP providers, both existing and new, must come into compliance with the "full disclosure" requirement, discussed below, by July 29, 2005. The remainder of the E911 obligations must be fulfilled by November 26, 2005. Future Orders will address advanced E911 solutions.

The new rules establish a central requirement that all interconnected VOIP providers must transmit all 911 calls, as well as the call back number and the caller's "Registered Location" for each call. The FCC unpacks this central requirement into the specific implementation obligations summarized below:

Before initiating service, each VOIP provider that does not have automatic location capability must obtain from the customer the physical location where the service will first be used. The most recent location information is the "Registered Location" and must be available from or through the Automatic Location Information (ALI) database. VOIP customers must be able to expeditiously update his/her Registered Location anytime.

All 911 calls must be terminated at the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), the state default answering point, or the designated emergency authority for the caller's Registered Location. Interconnected VOIP 911 calls must be routed using Automatic Numbering Identification (ANI) (the call-back phone number) or, where necessary, pseudo-ANI (which is commonly used by wireless carriers and has the same number of digits as the phone number and can substitute for the ANI).

All E911 calls that originate on VOIP networks must be routed to the dedicated wireline E911 network. The VOIP provider may use any solution to interconnect to the Network, such as contracting with a CLEC or leasing access from the LEC.

All 911 calls must be directly routed to the emergency call center

VOIP providers cannot require their customers to opt-in or opt-out of receiving 911 service. In addition, VOIP 911 calls cannot be routed to administrative numbers at the call centers.

Starting July 29, 2005, all VOIP providers shall advise each subscriber in plain English of all circumstances that may limit 911 services over the interconnected VOIP network. The point of comparison for disclosure of such a limitation is how 911 service over the interconnected VOIP network differs from traditional E911 service. The provider must keep records demonstrating that circumstances limiting the VOIP E911 service were fully disclosed to and acknowledged by each subscriber.

All interconnected VOIP providers must submit a letter detailing compliance with these rules no later than November 26, 2005.

The NPRM

Comment is sought on future steps needed to achieve ubiquitous and reliable E911 service. Some of the issues being explored include the following:

• techniques for obtaining accurate ALI when interconnected VOIP is portable
• rules that govern CMRS providers with dual handsets that dynamically switch off between the CMRS network and wireless broadband connections such as Wi-Fi and Wi-Max
• extending the scope of the rules to certain types of VOIP that are not fully interconnected to the PSTN (i.e., calls can be terminated on the PSTN but not received from the PSTN)
• performance standards for providing the ALI database with updated Registered Location information
• additional reporting obligations for VOIP service providers
• role of the states in implementing the new rules
• customer privacy protections
• capabilities to facilitate E911 for persons with disabilities that are interconnected VOIP subscribers

Comments are due on August 15, 2005, and reply comments are due on September 12, 2005.

The content of this article does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on in that way. Specific advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.