WASHINGTON-In danger of losing its funding, the Texas state commission with authority over 911 implementation is blaming the wireless industry because the commission did not meet a state-mandated target.
As of Aug. 31 (the state-mandated deadline) wireless enhanced 911 Phase I service had been deployed in 73.4 percent of the area governed by the Texas Commission on State Emergency Communications. The number increased to nearly 75.3 percent on Sept. 1, surpassing the 75-percent required by state law.
Still, the commission is expected to lose $2.3 million in funding, said Carey Spence, commission deputy director.
And the commission is not happy about it.
“This is unacceptable for public-safety reasons,” said Spence.
Under Phase I deployment, a call-back number and cell-site information is delivered to a public safety answering point when a caller dials 911 from a wireless phone. Many jurisdictions have wireline E911 service, which provides the PSAP with a call-back number and the address from which the call is placed.
The implementation deadline for Phase I wireless service was April 1, 1998, but deployment did not really get under way until last year when the FCC removed the requirement that cost-recovery mechanisms for carriers be in place.
Under the new rules, carriers have six months to deploy Phase I services after receiving a request from a PSAP.
The Texas commission began submitting requests last fall and the deadline for the bulk of those requests was April 15.
However, few of those requests for wireless E911 Phase I service have been filled, according to documentation in the Texas commission’s report, obtained by RCR Wireless News.
In many cases, carriers have not deployed to a single county in their coverage area. In some cases, deployments have been made for a fraction of counties.
In response, industry representatives say the missed deadline is not their fault or claim the Texas commission’s figures are wrong.
“I find it very aggravating that the CSEC finds it necessary to point fingers at the wireless industry,” said Charles McKee, senior regulation attorney for Sprint PCS. “CSEC has created a number of the delays,” added McKee in statement representative of other industry sentiments.
Sprint has not completed deployment in a single CSEC county, but does have E911 service in two areas outside of the CSEC area.
Most carriers, such as Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Alltel Corp. and Southwestern Bell Wireless Inc. say they are working with the Texas commission to deploy the service as quickly as possible.
Other industry representatives disputed the numbers in the report.
“I have nothing to say,” said Ken Woo, spokesman for AT&T Wireless Services Inc. When pressed further on a response as to why AT&T Wireless had only deployed Phase I service in 13 of 41 counties, Woo said the information provided was “all incorrect figures.”
Texas commission staff is scheduled to meet with Federal Communications Commission staff this week to discuss sanctions since no wireless carriers met the six-month deadline.
It is unclear what, if any, action the FCC will take. The Texas commission has been working with both the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, but now all action most likely will move to the enforcement bureau.
The Texas commission July 12 sent a petition to the FCC, urging FCC staff oversight and suggesting that fines might be warranted if the Aug. 31 deadline was not met.
It is uncertain whether the enforcement bureau will treat the petition as a formal or informal complaint or whether it will ask for more documentation before moving forward.
Carriers have asked the FCC for an opportunity to respond to the Texas petition.
