FCC Updates Rules To Improve 911 Reliability

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to promote public safety by ensuring that 911 call centers receive timely and useful notifications of network disruptions that affect 911 service. These notifications will help 911 call centers maintain emergency services and inform the public when to use alternatives to call 911. The updated rules will standardize the type of information conveyed in the notifications and ensure that it is clear and actionable, regardless of where in the call processing network an outage occurs. The updated rules also require service providers to maintain up-to-date contact information for the 911 call centers they serve. In addition, the FCC retained its current requirement that covered 911 service providers file annual 911 reliability certifications, which will help the FCC promote the continuity of 911 service during the transition to Next Generation 911.