Emergency Communications

This Public Notice is the third in a series that solicits input on the efficacy of the Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework. The Federal Communications Commission now seeks feedback on the implementation and effectiveness of each prong of the Framework, including responses to the letters sent by the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) and how to best monitor and document the framework's efficacy.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed to help first responders more accurately locate people who make wireless 911 calls from multistory buildings. The proposal would assist 911 call centers in identifying the floor level where the 911 call occurred, which can reduce emergency response times and ultimately save lives. The FCC proposed a vertical (or “z-axis”) location accuracy metric of plus or minus three meters relative to the handset for 80% of indoor wireless 911 calls.

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Friday, March 15, 2019:

Spectrum Horizons – The Commission will consider a First Report and Order that would adopt rules to make available 21.2 GHz of spectrum above 95 GHz for unlicensed operations and create a new class of experimental licenses for the 95 GHz to 3 THz spectrum range (ET Docket No. 18-21; RM-11795)

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Friday, March 15, 2019:

On March 15, we’ll aim to make progress on many of the issues core to the Federal Communications Commission’s mission: promoting US leadership on 5G, closing the digital divide, advancing public safety, modernizing our media rules, helping rural consumers, and more.

The Federal Communications Commission takes an all-of-the-above approach to public safety, so in addition to meeting our statutory obligations, the Commission is pursuing its own initiatives to strengthen emergency calling.

Google Fiber says dozens of customers remain without home internet nearly two weeks after a major winter storm knocked out service for many across Kansas City. The company says technicians are "working night and day" to get subscribers back online, but many customers say they're fed up and that their trust in the Silicon Valley brand they once admired is gone. "We're actively looking to switch providers," says Julie Gronquist-Blodgett.

As reports emerged that President Donald Trump considered declaring a national emergency to fund a wall on the Southern border, Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel wrote on Twitter such a move permits the president to “shut down or take over communications in war or emergency.” It's not clear just how expansive that little-tested power is — if, for instance, a president could use it to hijack TV broadcasts or disrupt Americans' internet service.

Some 911 emergency services in various parts of the country were inaccessible Dec 28 amid an internet outage from Louisiana-based CenturyLink, prompting a federal inquiry and rebuke. Calling the outages “completely unacceptable,” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said his agency has launched an investigation into the CenturyLink 911 outage in parts of Washington state, Missouri, Idaho, and Arizona. The outage started the morning of Dec 28 and quickly spread beyond people’s ability to watch online videos.

The Federal Communications Commission published its tenth annual report to Congress on the collection and distribution of 911 fees by states. The report finds that in calendar year 2017, states and territories collected more than $2.9 billion in 911 fees. But almost $285 million of that funding—approximately 9.7%—was diverted for uses other than 911. The FCC’s report identifies six states and one territory as diverting 911 fees for other uses last year: Montana, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and the US Virgin Islands.