Remarks of FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai at the Nebraska Public Service Commission's Public Workshop on Accessing 911 Service From Multi-Line Telephone System

It bears observing that our nation's 911 system has been a tremendous success story. But our system isn't perfect. In particular, when your life or the life of a loved one is on the line, you shouldn't have to think about whether you need to dial a "9", "8", "7," or some other access code to get an outside line....I launched an inquiry to determine the scope of the problem and to encourage hotels, motels, and other buildings that use multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) to ensure that direct 911 calling works. The responses showed that virtually every MLTS system in use today can be configured or re-configured to allow direct 911 dialing. They revealed that modifying existing systems costs little to no money. And they made clear that many telephone systems can be configured to permit both 911 and 9-911 calling. The biggest obstacle to solving the problem was a lack of awareness -- something you are helping combat today.