WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week designated 911 as the official emergency number but asked for comment on how soon this could occur and what the agency could do to assist in the transition.
Congress last year passed the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 which said that 911 should be the universal emergency number. The wireless industry lobbied hard for the legislation saying that there were numerous localities where 911 was not the emergency number especially for wireless users.
The FCC specifically questions whether wireless carriers should be given more time to transition to 911 but it said “because wireless carriers covered by the 911 act are subject to our [enhanced 911] rules that require their transmission of all 911 calls, they generally would translate 911 calls into any non-911 number a locality may be using for emergency services and it is not clear that any longer implementation period is necessary.”
In the 911 act, the FCC was told to designate the number and provide the necessary guidance to make it occur. Last week’s order and notice of proposed rule-making fulfilled this requirement.
The agency tentatively concluded that carriers wouldn’t be obligated to send calls to local fire or police departments if the locality had not established a public safety answering point.
The 911 act also changed how some customer information is to be used, but the FCC deferred action on this while it considers the issue separately.
