The FCC wants to make Next Generation 911 (NG911) networks more reliable and interoperable, which officials say will help first responders save lives. Commissioners voted yesterday on proposed rules to accomplish this.
“One of the most important things we can do is to make sure that calls to 911 always go through and that is why our 911 reliability rules are so important,” said FCC Chairman Brendan Carr during the vote. “But it has been 12 years now since the FCC first adopted its 911 reliability rules and a lot can change over a dozen years.”
Carr explained, “We now have experience with a number of unfortunate ‘sunny day’ outages—times when 911 calling goes down for reasons that are not related to a storm or other natural disaster. Those events have uncovered potential gaps in our 911 reliability rules. Today’s proposal would address these gaps by ensuring that the third parties that support 911 systems are covered by the Commission’s reliability requirements.”
The nation is transitioning from legacy 911 technology to NG911, which will use Internet Protocol-based infrastructure to support new capabilities, including text, video, and data. For NG911 to be fully effective, these networks must safeguard critical components and support the interoperability needed to seamlessly transfer 911 calls and data from one network to another, according to agency officials.
That’s why the FCC proposed rule changes to ease the NG911 transition and ensure the conversion doesn’t inadvertently create vulnerabilities in public safety networks. The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on proposals to:
- Update the Commission’s existing 911 reliability rules to ensure they apply to service providers that control or operate critical pathways and components in NG911 networks.
- Update the reliability standards for providers of critical NG911 functions to ensure the reliable delivery of 911 traffic to NG911 delivery points.
- Establish NG911 interoperability requirements for the interstate transfer of 911 traffic.
- Modify the certification and oversight mechanisms in the current 911 reliability rules to improve reliability and interoperability in NG911 systems while minimizing burdens on service providers.
- Empower state and local 911 authorities to obtain reliability and interoperability certifications directly from covered 911 service providers, so that 911 authorities can more easily address reliability and interoperability concerns within their jurisdictions.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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