The FCC reached agreements with three major carriers to begin delivering 911 vertical location information within a week. The information will help first responders quickly locate 911 callers in multi-story buildings, which will reduce response times and ultimately save lives, according to the Commission.
To speed up nationwide implementation of vertical location information, the bureau reached settlements with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon that it says resolved the investigations. The Consent Decree requires each company to make a $100,000 settlement payment to the U.S. Treasury within 30 days. They must start providing z-axis location information from wireless callers to 911 call centers within seven days and implement a compliance plan.
The agency adopted rules to improve location information for 911 wireless calls in 2015. Those rules required nationwide wireless providers to deploy dispatchable location or meet certain z-axis location accuracy requirements in the nation’s largest 25 markets by April 3, 2021, and to certify to such deployment by June 2, 2021.
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon asked for more time, based in part on challenges with testing z-axis solutions because of the COVID pandemic. In April, the Enforcement Bureau began an inquiry into these providers’ compliance with the deadlines as well as the current capabilities of z-axis solutions.
The new commitments extend beyond the 25 largest metropolitan areas required under FCC rules and instead assure that vertical location information will be made available to public safety entities nationwide. FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the settlements also will provide public safety stakeholders with greater visibility into industry progress toward dispatchable location and floor-level accuracy and guidance on receiving and using z-axis information.
“Six years is too long to wait for 911 vertical location information that can save lives,” said Rosenworcel. “These settlements accomplish what has evaded the agency for too long: they ensure that the FCC, public safety, and wireless carriers work together to immediately start delivering this information to first responders without further delay.”
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