Title 47:
Telecommunication
PART 20COMMERCIAL MOBILE RADIO SERVICES
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§ 20.18 911 Service.
(a) Scope of section. The following requirements are only
applicable to Broadband Personal Communications Services (part 24, subpart
E of this chapter), Cellular Radio Telephone Service (part 22, subpart H
of this chapter), and Geographic Area Specialized Mobile Radio Services
and Incumbent Wide Area SMR Licensees in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands
(included in part 90, subpart S of this chapter) and those entities that
offer voice service to consumers by purchasing airtime or capacity at
wholesale rates from these licensees, collectively CMRS providers. In
addition, service providers in these enumerated services are subject to
the following requirements solely to the extent that they offer real-time,
two way switched voice service that is interconnected with the public
switched network and utilize an in-network switching facility which
enables the provider to reuse frequencies and accomplish seamless
hand-offs of subscriber calls.
(b) Basic 911 Service. CMRS providers subject to this section
must transmit all wireless 911 calls without respect to their call
validation process to a Public Safety Answering Point, or, where no Public
Safety Answering Point has been designated, to a designated statewide
default answering point or appropriate local emergency authority pursuant
to §64.3001 of this chapter, provided that all wireless 911 calls is
defined as any call initiated by a wireless user dialing 911 on a phone
using a compliant radio frequency protocol of the serving carrier.
(c) TTY Access to 911 Services. CMRS providers subject to this
section must be capable of transmitting 911 calls from individuals with
speech or hearing disabilities through means other than mobile radio
handsets, e.g., through the use of Text Telephone Devices (TTY).
(d) Phase I enhanced 911 services. (1) As of April 1, 1998, or
within six months of a request by the designated Public Safety Answering
Point as set forth in paragraph (j) of this section, whichever is later,
licensees subject to this section must provide the telephone number of the
originator of a 911 call and the location of the cell site or base station
receiving a 911 call from any mobile handset accessing their systems to
the designated Public Safety Answering Point through the use of ANI and
Pseudo-ANI.
(2) When the directory number of the handset used to originate a 911
call is not available to the serving carrier, such carrier's obligations
under the paragraph (d)(1) of this section extend only to delivering 911
calls and available call party information, including that prescribed in
paragraph (l) of this section, to the designated Public Safety Answering
Point.
Note to paragraph (d): With respect to 911
calls accessing their systems through the use of TTYs, licensees subject
to this section must comply with the requirements in paragraphs (d)(1) and
(d)(2) of this section, as to calls made using a digital wireless system,
as of October 1, 1998.
(e) Phase II enhanced 911 service. Licensees subject to this
section must provide to the designated Public Safety Answering Point Phase
II enhanced 911 service, i.e., the location of all 911 calls by
longitude and latitude in conformance with Phase II accuracy requirements
(see paragraph (h) of this section).
(f) Phase-in for network-based location technologies. Licensees
subject to this section who employ a network-based location technology
shall provide Phase II 911 enhanced service to at least 50 percent of
their coverage area or 50 percent of their population beginning October 1,
2001, or within 6 months of a PSAP request, whichever is later; and to 100
percent of their coverage area or 100 percent of their population within
18 months of such a request or by October 1, 2002, whichever is later.
(g) Phase-in for handset-based location technologies. Licensees
subject to this section who employ a handset-based location technology may
phase in deployment of Phase II enhanced 911 service, subject to the
following requirements:
(1) Without respect to any PSAP request for deployment of Phase II 911
enhanced service, the licensee shall:
(i) Begin selling and activating location-capable handsets no later
than October 1, 2001;
(ii) Ensure that at least 25 percent of all new handsets activated are
location-capable no later than December 31, 2001;
(iii) Ensure that at least 50 percent of all new handsets activated are
location-capable no later than June 30, 2002; and
(iv) Ensure that 100 percent of all new digital handsets activated are
location-capable no later than December 31, 2002, and thereafter.
(v) By December 31, 2005, achieve 95 percent penetration of
location-capable handsets among its subscribers.
(vi) Licensees that meet the enhanced 911 compliance obligations
through GPS-enabled handsets and have commercial agreements with resellers
will not be required to include the resellers' handset counts in their
compliance percentages.
(2) Once a PSAP request is received, the licensee shall, in the area
served by the PSAP, within six months or by October 1, 2001, whichever is
later:
(i) Install any hardware and/or software in the CMRS network and/or
other fixed infrastructure, as needed, to enable the provision of Phase II
enhanced 911 service; and
(ii) Begin delivering Phase II enhanced 911 service to the PSAP.
(3) For all 911 calls from portable or mobile phones that do not
contain the hardware and/or software needed to enable the licensee to
provide Phase II enhanced 911 service, the licensee shall, after a PSAP
request is received, support, in the area served by the PSAP, Phase I
location for 911 calls or other available best practice method of
providing the location of the portable or mobile phone to the PSAP.
(4) Licensees employing handset-based location technologies shall
ensure that location-capable portable or mobile phones shall conform to
industry interoperability standards designed to enable the location of
such phones by multiple licensees.
(h) Phase II accuracy. Licensees subject to this section shall
comply with the following standards for Phase II location accuracy and
reliability:
(1) For network-based technologies: 100 meters for 67 percent of calls,
300 meters for 95 percent of calls;
(2) For handset-based technologies: 50 meters for 67 percent of calls,
150 meters for 95 percent of calls.
(3) For the remaining 5 percent of calls, location attempts must be
made and a location estimate for each call must be provided to the
appropriate PSAP.
(i) Reports on Phase II plans. Licensees subject to this section
shall report to the Commission their plans for implementing Phase II
enhanced 911 service, including the location-determination technology they
plan to employ and the procedure they intend to use to verify conformance
with the Phase II accuracy requirements by November 9, 2000. Licensees are
required to update these plans within thirty days of the adoption of any
change. These reports and updates may be filed electronically in a manner
to be designated by the Commission.
(j) Conditions for enhanced 911 services(1) Generally.
The requirements set forth in paragraphs (d) through (h) of this section
shall be applicable only if the administrator of the designated Public
Safety Answering Point has requested the services required under those
paragraphs and the Public Safety Answering Point is capable of receiving
and utilizing the data elements associated with the service and a
mechanism for recovering the Public Safety Answering Point's costs of the
enhanced 911 service is in place.
(2) Commencement of six-month period. (i) Except as provided in
paragraph (ii) of this section, for purposes of commencing the six-month
period for carrier implementation specified in paragraphs (d), (f) and (g)
of this section, a PSAP will be deemed capable of receiving and utilizing
the data elements associated with the service requested, if it can
demonstrate that it has:
(A) Ordered the necessary equipment and has commitments from suppliers
to have it installed and operational within such six-month period; and
(B) Made a timely request to the appropriate local exchange carrier for
the necessary trunking, upgrades, and other facilities.
(ii) For purposes of commencing the six-month period for carrier
implementation specified in paragraphs (f) and (g) of this section, a PSAP
that is Phase I-capable using a Non-Call Path Associated Signaling (NCAS)
technology will be deemed capable of receiving and utilizing the data
elements associated with Phase II service if it can demonstrate that it
has made a timely request to the appropriate local exchange carrier for
the ALI database upgrade necessary to receive the Phase II information.
(3) Tolling of six-month period. Where a wireless carrier has
served a written request for documentation on the PSAP within 15 days of
receiving the PSAP's request for Phase I or Phase II enhanced 911 service,
and the PSAP fails to respond to such request within 15 days of such
service, the six-month period for carrier implementation specified in
paragraphs (d), (f), and (g) of this section will be tolled until the PSAP
provides the carrier with such documentation.
(4) Carrier certification regarding PSAP readiness issues. At
the end of the six-month period for carrier implementation specified in
paragraphs (d), (f) and (g) of this section, a wireless carrier that
believes that the PSAP is not capable of receiving and utilizing the data
elements associated with the service requested may file a certification
with the Commission. Upon filing and service of such certification, the
carrier may suspend further implementation efforts, except as provided in
paragraph (j)(4)(x) of this section.
(i) As a prerequisite to filing such certification, no later than 21
days prior to such filing, the wireless carrier must notify the affected
PSAP, in writing, of its intent to file such certification. Any response
that the carrier receives from the PSAP must be included with the
carrier's certification filing.
(ii) The certification process shall be subject to the procedural
requirements set forth in sections 1.45 and 1.47 of this chapter.
(iii) The certification must be in the form of an affidavit signed by a
director or officer of the carrier, documenting:
(A) The basis for the carrier's determination that the PSAP will not be
ready;
(B) Each of the specific steps the carrier has taken to provide the
E911 service requested;
(C) The reasons why further implementation efforts cannot be made until
the PSAP becomes capable of receiving and utilizing the data elements
associated with the E911 service requested; and
(D) The specific steps that remain to be completed by the wireless
carrier and, to the extent known, the PSAP or other parties before the
carrier can provide the E911 service requested.
(iv) All affidavits must be correct. The carrier must ensure that its
affidavit is correct, and the certifying director or officer has the duty
to personally determine that the affidavit is correct.
(v) A carrier may not engage in a practice of filing inadequate or
incomplete certifications for the purpose of delaying its
responsibilities.
(vi) To be eligible to make a certification, the wireless carrier must
have completed all necessary steps toward E911 implementation that are not
dependent on PSAP readiness.
(vii) A copy of the certification must be served on the PSAP in
accordance with §1.47 of this chapter. The PSAP may challenge in writing
the accuracy of the carrier's certification and shall serve a copy of such
challenge on the carrier. See §§1.45 and 1.47 and §§1.720 through
1.736 of this chapter.
(viii) If a wireless carrier's certification is facially inadequate,
the six-month implementation period specified in paragraphs (d), (f) and
(g) of this section will not be suspended as provided for in paragraph
(j)(4) of this section.
(ix) If a wireless carrier's certification is inaccurate, the wireless
carrier will be liable for noncompliance as if the certification had not
been filed.
(x) A carrier that files a certification under paragraph (j)(4) of this
section shall have 90 days from receipt of the PSAP's written notice that
it is capable of receiving and utilizing the data elements associated with
the service requested to provide such service in accordance with the
requirements of paragraphs (d) through (h) of this section.
(5) Modification of deadlines by agreement. Nothing in this
section shall prevent Public Safety Answering Points and carriers from
establishing, by mutual consent, deadlines different from those imposed
for carrier and PSAP compliance in paragraphs (d), (f), and (g)(2) of this
section.
(k) Dispatch service. A service provider covered by this section
who offers dispatch service to customers may meet the requirements of this
section with respect to customers who utilize dispatch service either by
complying with the requirements set forth in paragraphs (b) through (e) of
this section, or by routing the customer's emergency calls through a
dispatcher. If the service provider chooses the latter alternative, it
must make every reasonable effort to explicitly notify its current and
potential dispatch customers and their users that they are not able to
directly reach a PSAP by calling 911 and that, in the event of an
emergency, the dispatcher should be contacted.
(l) Non-service-initialized handsets. (1) Licensees subject to
this section that donate a non-service-initialized handset for purposes of
providing access to 911 services are required to:
(i) Program each handset with 911 plus the decimal representation of
the seven least significant digits of the Electronic Serial Number,
International Mobile Equipment Identifier, or any other identifier unique
to that handset;
(ii) Affix to each handset a label which is designed to withstand the
length of service expected for a non-service-initialized phone, and which
notifies the user that the handset can only be used to dial 911, that the
911 operator will not be able to call the user back, and that the user
should convey the exact location of the emergency as soon as possible; and
(iii) Institute a public education program to provide the users of such
handsets with information regarding the limitations of
non-service-initialized handsets.
(2) Manufacturers of 911-only handsets that are manufactured on or
after May 3, 2004, are required to:
(i) Program each handset with 911 plus the decimal representation of
the seven least significant digits of the Electronic Serial Number,
International Mobile Equipment Identifier, or any other identifier unique
to that handset;
(ii) Affix to each handset a label which is designed to withstand the
length of service expected for a non-service-initialized phone, and which
notifies the user that the handset can only be used to dial 911, that the
911 operator will not be able to call the user back, and that the user
should convey the exact location of the emergency as soon as possible; and
(iii) Institute a public education program to provide the users of such
handsets with information regarding the limitations of 911-only handsets.
(3) Definitions. The following definitions apply for purposes of
this paragraph.
(i) Non-service-initialized handset. A handset for which there
is no valid service contract with a provider of the services enumerated in
paragraph (a) of this section.
(ii) 911-only handset. A non-service-initialized handset that is
manufactured with the capability of dialing 911 only and that cannot
receive incoming calls.
(m) Reseller obligation. (1) Beginning December 31, 2006,
resellers have an obligation, independent of the underlying licensee, to
provide access to basic and enhanced 911 service to the extent that the
underlying licensee of the facilities the reseller uses to provide access
to the public switched network complies with sections 20.18(d)(g).
(2) Resellers have an independent obligation to ensure that all
handsets or other devices offered to their customers for voice
communications and sold after December 31, 2006 are capable of
transmitting enhanced 911 information to the appropriate PSAP, in
accordance with the accuracy requirements of section 20.18(i).
[63 FR 2637, Jan. 16, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 60130, Nov. 4, 1999; 64
FR 72956, Dec. 29, 1999; 65 FR 58661, Oct. 2, 2000; 65 FR 82295, Dec. 28,
2000; 66 FR 55623, Nov. 2, 2001; 67 FR 1648, Jan. 14, 2002; 67 FR 36117,
May 23, 2002; 68 FR 2918, Jan. 22, 2003; 69 FR 2519, Jan. 16, 2004; 69 FR
6581, Feb. 11, 2004]
Effective Date Note: At 68 FR
2918, Jan. 22, 2003, §20.18, paragraph (j) was revised. Paragraphs (j)(4)
and (5) contain information collection and recordkeeping requirements and
will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of
Management and Budget.
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