Hearing on Internet Calls to 911

HEARING ON INTERNET CALLS TO 911
[SOURCE: Rep Ed Markey (D-MA) press release]
On Wednesday, House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet Chairman Ed Markey presided over a hearing on emergency communications and more specifically, the provisions of HR 3403, a bill designed to ensure that a consumer calling 911 in an emergency from an Internet phone, using so-called “voice over Internet protocol” or VoIP service, can do so with a degree of confidence matching that of traditional phone service and wireless service. The bill seeks to achieve this goal through two key provisions. The first provision extends liability protections to VoIP service providers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lacks authority to grant liability protection to VoIP service providers and therefore Congress must take action to achieve this policy objective. This is similar to action this Subcommittee took in 1999 when such liability protection was accorded to wireless providers. The second key provision in the bill establishes the right of VoIP providers to access the parts of the 911 infrastructure they need in order to complete 911 calls for consumers.
http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3086&I...
* Statement of House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI)
"Few things are more important than the public safety of our citizens, and one critical component of our Nation’s public safety network is 9-1-1 service. When faced with any threat or emergency, Americans expect to be able to pick up the phone, dial 9-1-1 and obtain an immediate response no matter what kind of phone or technology they use to make the call."
http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110st87.shtml