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DA 05-2945
Released: November 7, 2005
Enforcement Bureau Outlines Requirements of November 28, 2005
Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol 911 Compliance
Letters
WC Docket No. 04-36
WC Docket No. 05-196
In this Public Notice, the Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) sets
forth the specific information that interconnected voice over
Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers1 must include in the
Compliance Letters required by the Federal Communications
Commission (Commission) in its June 3, 2005 order establishing
enhanced 911 requirements for IP-enabled service providers.2
Compliance Letters must be filed with the Commission on or before
November 28, 2005.3 Although the Bureau has released prior
public notices addressing the Commission's subscriber
notification and acknowledgement requirements,4 this Notice
addresses only the Compliance Letter requirements.
In addition, the Bureau takes this opportunity to commend
the steps undertaken by AT&T Corp. (AT&T), MCI, Inc. (MCI) and
Verizon Communications, Inc. (Verizon) to comply with the
Commission's VoIP 911 provisioning requirements, as outlined in
recent letters they filed in the above-referenced dockets.5 As
detailed below, the Bureau strongly encourages other providers to
adopt similar measures to comply with the VoIP 911 requirements
and will carefully analyze an interconnected VoIP provider's
implementation of such measures in determining whether and how to
take enforcement action.
Background
On June 3, 2005 the Commission released the VoIP 911 Order
adopting rules that require interconnected VoIP providers to
provide their new and existing subscribers with 911 service no
later than November 28, 2005.6 Specifically, as a condition of
providing interconnected VoIP service, each interconnected VoIP
provider must, in addition to satisfying the subscriber
notification, acknowledgment, and labeling requirements set forth
in section 9.5(e) of the Commission's rules:7
· Transmit all 911 calls to the public safety answering
point (PSAP), designated statewide default answering
point, or appropriate local emergency authority that
serves the caller's ``Registered Location.''8 Such
transmissions must include the caller's Automatic
Numbering Information (ANI)9 and Registered Location to
the extent that the PSAP, designated statewide default
answering point, or appropriate local emergency authority
is capable of receiving and processing such information;10
· Route all 911 calls through the use of ANI and, if
necessary, pseudo-ANI,11 via the Wireline E911 Network,12
and make a caller's Registered Location available to the
appropriate PSAP, designated statewide default answering
point or appropriate local emergency authority from or
through the appropriate Automatic Location Identification
(ALI) database;13
· Obtain from each of its existing and new customers, prior
to the initiation of service, a Registered Location;14 and
· Provide all of their end users one or more methods of
updating their Registered Location at will and in a timely
manner.15 At least one method must allow end users to use
only the same equipment (such as the Internet telephone)
that they use to access their interconnected VoIP
service.16
Compliance Letters
Additionally, given the vital public safety interests at
stake, the VoIP 911 Order requires each interconnected VoIP
provider to file with the Commission a Compliance Letter on or
before November 28, 2005 detailing its compliance with the above
911 requirements.17 To ensure that interconnected VoIP providers
have satisfied the requirements set forth above, we require
interconnected VoIP providers to include the following
information in their Compliance Letters:
· 911 Solution: This description should include a
quantification, on a percentage basis, of the number of
subscribers to whom the provider is able to provide 911
service in compliance with the rules established in the VoIP
911 Order. Further, the detailed description of the
technical solution should include the following components:
· 911 Routing Information/Connectivity to Wireline E911
Network: A detailed statement as to whether the
provider is transmitting, as specified in Paragraph 42
of the VoIP 911 Order, ``all 911 calls to the
appropriate PSAP, designated statewide default
answering point, or appropriate local emergency
authority utilizing the Selective Router, the trunk
line(s) between the Selective Router and the PSAP, and
such other elements of the Wireline E911 Network as
are necessary in those areas where Selective Routers
are utilized.''18 If the provider is not transmitting
all 911 calls to the correct answering point in areas
where Selective Routers are utilized, this statement
should include a detailed explanation why not. In
addition, the provider should quantify the number of
Selective Routers to which it has interconnected,
directly or indirectly, as of November 28, 2005.
· Transmission of ANI and Registered Location
Information: A detailed statement as to whether the
provider is transmitting via the Wireline E911 Network
the 911 caller's ANI and Registered Location to all
answering points that are capable of receiving and
processing this information. This information should
include: (i) a quantification, on a percentage basis,
of how many answering points within the provider's
service area are capable of receiving and processing
ANI and Registered Location information that the
provider transmits; (ii) a quantification of the
number of subscribers, on a percentage basis, whose
ANI and Registered Location are being transmitted to
answering points that are capable of receiving and
processing this information; and (iii) if the provider
is not transmitting the 911 caller's ANI and
Registered Location to all answering points that are
capable of receiving and processing this information,
a detailed explanation why not.
· 911 Coverage: To the extent a provider has not
achieved full 911 compliance with the requirements of
the VoIP 911 Order in all areas of the country by
November 28, 2005, the provider should: 1) describe in
detail, either in narrative form or by map, the areas
of the country, on a MSA basis, where it is in full
compliance and those in which it is not; and 2)
describe in detail its plans for coming into full
compliance with the requirements of the order,
including its anticipated timeframe for such
compliance.
· Obtaining Initial Registered Location Information: A
detailed description of all actions the provider has taken
to obtain each existing subscriber's current Registered
Location and each new subscriber's initial Registered
Location. This information should include, but is not
limited to, relevant dates and methods of contact with
subscribers and a quantification, on a percentage basis, of
the number of subscribers from whom the provider has
obtained the Registered Location.
· Obtaining Updated Registered Location Information: A
detailed description of the method(s) the provider has
offered its subscribers to update their Registered
Locations. This information should include a statement as
to whether the provider is offering its subscribers at least
one option for updating their Registered Location that
permits them to use the same equipment that they use to
access their interconnected VoIP service.
· Technical Solution for Nomadic Subscribers: A detailed
description of any technical solutions the provider is
implementing or has implemented to ensure that subscribers
have access to 911 service whenever they use their service
nomadically.
The Bureau notes that in an October 7, 2005 letter submitted
in WC Docket Nos. 04-36 and 05-196,19 AT&T outlined an innovative
compliance plan that it is implementing to address the
Commission's 911 provisioning requirements that take effect on
November 28, 2005. In letters filed on October 21, 2005 in these
dockets, MCI and Verizon each outlined similar compliance
plans.20 Each of these plans includes an automatic detection
mechanism that enables the provider to identify when a customer
may have moved his or her interconnected VoIP service to a new
location and ensure that the customer continues to receive 911
service even when using the interconnected VoIP service
nomadically. These plans also include a commitment to not accept
new interconnected VoIP customers in areas where the provider
cannot provide 911 service and to adopt a ``grandfather'' process
for existing customers for whom the provider has not yet
implemented either full 911 service or the automatic detection
capability.
The Bureau applauds the steps undertaken by AT&T, MCI and
Verizon and strongly encourages other providers to adopt similar
measures. The Bureau will carefully review a provider's
implementation of steps such as these in deciding whether and how
to take enforcement action. Providers should include in their
November 28, 2005, Compliance Letters a detailed statement as to
whether and how they have implemented such measures. To the
extent that providers have not implemented these or similar
measures, they should describe what measures they have
implemented in order to comply with the requirements of the VoIP
911 Order.
Although we do not require providers that have not achieved
full 911 compliance by November 28, 2005, to discontinue the
provision of interconnected VoIP service to any existing
customers, we do expect that such providers will discontinue
marketing VoIP service, and accepting new customers for their
service, in all areas where they are not transmitting 911 calls
to the appropriate PSAP in full compliance with the Commission's
rules.
Filing Procedures
Interconnected VoIP providers must file the above-referenced
Compliance Letters in this proceeding on or before November 28,
2005. All such filings must reference WC Docket No. 05-196 and
should be labeled clearly on the first page as ``Compliance
Letter.'' Compliance Letters may be filed using: (1) the
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System
(ECFS), or (2) by filing paper copies. See Electronic
Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg.
24,121 (May 1, 1998).
· Electronic Filers: Compliance Letters may be filed
electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Filers should follow the
instructions provided on the website for submitting
comments. For ECFS filers, in completing the transmittal
screen, filers should include their full name, U.S. Postal
Service mailing address, and the applicable docket number
(WC Docket No. 05-196).
· Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file
an original and four copies of each filing. Filings can be
sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight
courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service
mail (although we continue to experience delays in receiving
U.S. Postal Service mail). All filings must be addressed to
the Commission's Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of the
Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th
Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554.
· The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's
Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Suite 110,
Washington, DC 20002. The filing hours at this location are
8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held
together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must
be disposed of before entering the building.
· Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East
Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
· U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail
should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW, Washington DC
20554.
Parties should also send a copy of their filings to:
· Kathy Berthot, Deputy Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division,
Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room
7-C802, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, or by
email to kathy.berthot@fcc.gov; and
· Janice Myles, Competition Policy Division, Wireline
Competition Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, Room
5-C140, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20554, or by
e-mail to janice.myles@fcc.gov.
Parties must also serve one copy with the Commission's copy
contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc. (BCPI), Portals II, 445
12th Street, SW, Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C. 20554, (202) 488-
5300, or via e-mail to fcc@bcpiweb.com.
For further information regarding this notice, press should
contact Janice Wise, Director, Media Relations, Enforcement
Bureau, (202) 418-8165, and providers should contact Kathy
Berthot, Deputy Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division, Enforcement
Bureau, (202) 418-7454.
-FCC-
_________________________
1 ``Interconnected VoIP service'' means an interconnected voice over
Internet Protocol service that: (1) enables real-time, two-way voice
communications; (2) requires a broadband connection from the user's
location; (3) requires Internet protocol-compatible customer premises
equipment (CPE); and (4) permits users generally to receive calls that
originate on the public switched telephone network and to terminate calls
to the public switched telephone network. See 47 C.F.R. § 9.3.
2 IP-Enabled Services and 911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service
Providers, First Report and Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 20 FCC
Rcd 10245, 10273, ¶ 50 (2005) (VoIP 911 Order); 47 C.F.R. § 9.5(f).
3 47 C.F.R. § 9.5(f).
4 See Public Notice, Enforcement Bureau Provides Guidance to Interconnected
Voice Over Internet Protocol Service Providers Concerning the July 29, 2005
Subscriber Notification Deadlines, WC Docket Nos. 04-36, 05-196, DA 05-2085
(rel. July 26, 2005); Public Notice, Enforcement Bureau Provides Further
Guidance to Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol Service Providers
Concerning Enforcement of Subscriber Acknowledgement Requirement, WC Docket
Nos. 04-36, 05-196, DA 05-2358 (rel. Aug. 26, 2005); Public Notice,
Enforcement Bureau Provides Further Guidance to Interconnected Voice Over
Internet Protocol Service Providers Concerning Enforcement of Subscriber
Acknowledgement Requirement, WC Docket Nos. 04-36, 05-196, DA 05-2530 (rel.
Sept. 27, 2005); Public Notice, Enforcement Bureau Provides Additional
Guidance to Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol Service Providers
Concerning Enforcement of Subscriber Acknowledgement Requirement, WC Docket
Nos. 04-36, 05-196, DA 05-2874 (rel. Oct. 31, 2005). The subscriber
notification and acknowledgement requirements are codified in section
9.5(e) of the Commission's rules. 47 C.F.R. § 9.5(e); see also VoIP 911
Order, 20 FCC Rcd at 10271-73, ¶¶ 47-49.
5 See Letter from Robert W. Quinn, Jr., Vice President, Federal
Government Affairs, AT&T, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC,
WC Docket Nos. 04-36, 05-196 (filed October 7, 2005) (AT&T Ex
Parte); Letter from Richard S. Whitt, Vice President, Federal
Regulatory, MCI, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, WC Docket
Nos. 04-36, 05-196 (filed October 21, 2005) (MCI Ex Parte);
Letter from Susanne A. Guyer, Senior Vice President, Federal
Regulatory Affairs, Verizon, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary,
FCC, WC Docket Nos. 04-36, 05-196 (filed October 21, 2005)
(Verizon Ex Parte).
6 The effective date of these requirements is set at 120 days
after the effective date of the VoIP 911 Order. The VoIP 911
Order became effective 30 days after publication in the Federal
Register. Because the order was published in the Federal
Register on June 29, 2005, and became effective on July 29, 2005,
the effective date of these requirements is November 28, 2005.
See 70 Fed. Reg. 37,273 (June 29, 2005); 70 Fed. Reg. 43,323
(July 27, 2005).
7 See 47 C.F.R. § 9.5(e).
8 See 47 C.F.R. § 9.5(b)(2). An end-user's ``Registered
Location'' is the most recent information obtained by an
interconnected VoIP service provider that identifies the physical
location of the end-user. See 47 C.F.R. § 9.3.
9 ANI is a system that identifies the billing account for a call
and, for 911 systems, identifies the calling party and may be
used as a call back number. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 9.3, 20.3.
10 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 9.5(b)(2), (c).
11 Pseudo-ANI is ``a number, consisting of the same number of
digits as ANI, that is not a North American Numbering Plan
telephone directory number and may be used in place of an ANI to
convey special meaning. The special meaning assigned to the
pseudo-ANI is determined by agreements, as necessary, between the
system originating the call, intermediate systems handling and
routing the call, and the destination system.'' See 47 C.F.R. §§
9.3, 20.3.
12 The ``Wireline E911 Network'' is a ``dedicated wireline
network that: (1) is interconnected with but largely separate
from the public switched telephone network; (2) includes a
selective router; and (3) is utilized to route emergency calls
and related information to PSAPs, designated statewide default
answering points, appropriate local emergency authorities or
other emergency answering points.'' See 47 C.F.R. § 9.3.
13 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 9.5(b)(3), (4).
14 See 47 C.F.R. § 9.5(d)(1).
15 See 47 C.F.R. § 9.5(d)(2).
16 Id.
17 See VoIP 911 Order, 20 FCC Rcd at 10273, ¶ 50; 47 C.F.R. §
9.5(f).
18 VoIP 911 Order, 20 FCC Rcd at 10269-70, ¶ 42 (footnote
omitted).
19 See AT&T Ex Parte.
20 See MCI Ex Parte and Verizon Ex Parte.