Five-Step Action Plan to Improve the Deployment of Next Generation 9-1-1

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced his five-step action plan to chart the transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG911) services. Working with the public safety community, carriers, manufacturers and other service providers, Chairman Genachowski’s goal is to ensure that effective emergency response is a critical element of the broadband environment.

Under the Chairman’s five-step action plan, the FCC will:

1. develop automatic location accuracy mechanisms for NG-911,
2. facilitate the completion and implementation of NG911 technical standards for the hardware and software that carriers and public safety answering points (PSAPs) use to communicate NG911 information,
3. work with state 911 authorities, other Federal agencies, and other governing entities to provide technical expertise and develop a coordinated approach to NG911 governance,
4. develop an NG911 Funding Model focused on the cost-effectiveness of the NG911 network infrastructure linking PSAPs and carriers and
5. enable consumers to send text, photos, and videos to PSAPs.

Next month, the FCC is expected to launch a rulemaking to consider how to accelerate NG911 adoption to help answer practical, technical questions about how to enable text, photo, and video transmission to 911, including how to ensure adequate broadband infrastructure to deliver the bandwidth PSAPs will need to provide NG911. As part of the proceeding, the FCC will examine interim solutions for ensuring that carriers and service providers support transmission of text-to-911.