E-911 Measure Would Override FCC's Internet Telephony Rules

[SOURCE: Technology Daily, AUTHOR: Drew Clark]
An FCC requirement that Internet telephone companies provide emergency 911 services would be overruled by a new draft bill authored by Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). The committee draft revises S. 1063, introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) which would require Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, companies to provide location-based -- so-called enhanced -- 911 service. Unlike the Nelson bill, the new Stevens language relieves "nomadic" VoIP providers from the need to comply with a May order by the FCC. The agency had required all VoIP Internet telephony providers connecting to traditional telephone wires to provide E-911 service. The E-911 legislation had originally been scheduled for a vote on Oct. 20; it is now expected to be considered the week of Oct. 31. Both the Nelson and Stevens versions would require the modernization of the public safety 911 system. Voice on the Net Coalition's Jim Kohlenberger said it was better to have VoIP with 911 service -- but without location information -- than to be denied VoIP services because of an E-911 mandate.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-ZRJF1130450768656.html