The draft items cover the gamut of telecommunications issues, affecting everything from the construction of next-generation 5G networks to legacy intercarrier competition rules, and should be closely watched. You will find more details on the most significant November FCC meeting items after the break:

USF National Security Ban: The draft Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks to fortify the United States’ communications infrastructure from potential foreign surveillance and denial of service attack and would prohibit the use of USF support to purchase any equipment or services provided by a “covered company” that the FCC determines poses a national security threat to the integrity of domestic communications networks. The initial ban only would apply prospectively, but would include spending related to any maintenance or upgrades to existing equipment and services. The FCC would preliminarily designate Chinese equipment manufactures Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation as covered companies and seek comment on whether the designation should be made permanent. The FCC also would establish a process to designate other covered companies in the future. In addition, the FCC would propose: (1) requiring all USF recipients to stop using existing equipment and services provided by covered companies and (2) creating a reimbursement program to offset the “reasonable” transition costs associated with this requirement. In order to determine the scope of this potential “rip and replace” project, USF recipients would be required to report to the FCC on whether they use equipment and services from covered companies and the estimated costs of transitioning to new suppliers.

E911 Vertical Location Accuracy Requirements: The draft Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is designed to push carriers to better identify 911 callers’ locations within buildings and would adopt an E911 vertical location accuracy standard of +/- 3 meters for 80 percent of E911 calls from z-axis location capable handsets. The nationwide wireless carriers would be required to deploy z-axis location capable technology that meets the new standard in the 25 largest markets by April 3, 2021, and in the 50 largest markets by April 3, 2023. Non-nationwide wireless carriers would have an extra year to meet each of these deadlines. The FCC also would seek comment on tightening the E911 vertical location accuracy standard over time and whether carriers eventually should be obligated to report a caller’s floor number.

New Suspension and Debarment Rules: The draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would request input on whether the FCC should adopt new suspension and debarment rules to cover a wider range of misconduct, in accordance with federal guidelines adopted by many other federal agencies. The FCC’s current rules generally only allow the FCC to suspend and/or debar individuals from the USF programs after they are convicted or receive a civil judgment involving fraud or certain criminal offenses. The proposed rules would allow the FCC to suspend and/or debar individuals without a conviction or final judgment and for repeat violations of FCC rules, failures to pay regulatory fees, or other offenses “indicating a lack of business integrity.” The proposed rules would apply not only to USF participants, but also to participants in the Telecommunications Relay Service and National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution programs. Participants in these programs would be subject to new disclosure obligations and would be required to verify that they do not work with suspended or debarred entities. The FCC also plans to establish a system of reciprocity, in which entities suspended or debarred from participation in funding programs administered by other agencies would be similarly suspended or debarred from participating in the FCC programs. The FCC further asks whether it should be able to apply the new suspension and debarment rules retroactively to cover conduct occurring before their adoption, significantly increasing the potential liability for program participants.

Eliminating Unbundling/Resale Obligations: The draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes relieving incumbent local exchange carriers of their longstanding obligations to make certain network elements available on an unbundled basis and offer certain telecommunications services on a wholesale basis to competitive carriers. The draft item would address the few remaining unbundling and resale obligations left over from the Commission’s broad forbearance order adopted earlier this year. Specifically, the FCC would propose removing the unbundling requirements for: (1) DS1 and DS3 loops in competitive areas, with an exemption for DS1 loops providing residential broadband and telecommunications services in rural areas; (2) DS0 loops in urban census blocks; (3) narrowband voice-grade loops; and (4) dark fiber transport for wire centers within a half mile of alternative fiber. The FCC also would propose eliminating resale obligations for services offered in non-price cap incumbent carrier service areas. The FCC would argue that such unbundling and resale obligations are no longer necessary in light of increased competition. The FCC anticipates phasing in the reforms over a three-year period.

Expanding IP CTS Contribution Base: The draft Order would expand the contribution base for IP CTS, which provides call captioning for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, to include intrastate end-user revenues from contributing telecommunications carriers and VoIP providers. When the FCC initially authorized support for IP CTS, it decided as an “interim” measure to cover the service’s costs based only on interstate telecommunications revenues. The draft item would find that the interim funding mechanism unfairly burdens providers and users of interstate telecommunications services and is insufficient to address the overall decline in contributions. The FCC would note that the statute governing IP CTS provides it with broad authority to support captioning on intrastate as well as interstate calls and the Communication Act’s general reservation of state authority over intrastate communications does not apply in this instance. The FCC also would note that it does not expect the reforms to increase or otherwise affect the total contributions needed to support IP CTS.

With these new requirements, the FCC continues its trend of expanding the availability of emergency services calling to newer technologies. As these new forms of communication become more mainstream – and as they grow as replacements for, rather than complements to, traditional telecommunications services – the FCC has been inclined to make emergency services a “must have” feature of the service. Providers of new communications technologies should carefully review their service offerings to determine how to handle customer attempts to reach emergency services.

Direct 911 Dialing

Kari’s Law is a requirement that multi-line telephone systems provide direct access to 911 dialing, without requiring the dialing of a prefix (such as 9). The law takes its name from an assault and murder of a woman by her estranged husband in 2013. While the woman was being assaulted, her 9-year-old daughter repeatedly tried to dial 911 on the motel room phone, but was unable to reach emergency services because the girl did not know that the motel’s phone system first required the dialing of a “9” to reach an outside line. Kari’s Law attempts to solve this situation by requiring all multi-line telephone systems to allow dialing of 911 without dialing of a prefix before dialing the number.

In the Order, the FCC adopted a rule that restates the Kari’s Law requirement for MLTS system manufacturers and installers to ensure that direct 911 dialing capability is available for systems installed on or after February 16, 2020. Equipment manufacturers, importers or lessors must ensure that their systems are pre-configured so that when properly installed, the systems will be able to dial 911 directly, without dialing an additional digit, code, prefix, etc. Similarly, a person in the business of installing, managing, or operating an MLTS system must configure that system to allow the user to dial 911 without dialing an additional digit, code, prefix, etc.

In addition, Kari’s Law and the Order also requires an installed MLTS system to be configured to provide notification of a 911 call to a central location (or person) at the facility where it the MLTS device is housed, if that configuration is possible without software or hardware change. “MLTS Notification” is defined as a feature “that can send notice to a central location at the facility where the system is installed or to another person or organization regardless of location.” Examples of such a notification can include screen pops with an alarm noise on security desk computers using a client application, text messages, and an email for an administrator. The notification should include (1) the fact that a 911 call has been made, (2) a valid callback number (does not have to be a direct inward dial to the caller’s phone), and (3) the same location information that is conveyed with the call to 911, to the extent technically feasible. The initiation of the notification must be contemporaneous with the call to 911.

Dispatchable Location

In response to Section 506 of the RAY BAUM’S Act, the Order expands the requirement to transmit “dispatchable location” on 911 calls to multi-line systems. Dispatchable location generally means enhanced information about the location of a caller within a building, such as a room number, floor number, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party. The Order adopts requirements to transmit dispatchable location for both MLTS services and interconnected VoIP services.

• MLTS calls. The FCC acknowledged some parties’ concern that the feasibility of providing location information varied within MLTS depending on the type of device and functionality. As a result, the Order imposes different obligations depending upon the type of MLTS call involved.
  • Fixed MLTS – Providing dispatchable location information for 911 calls is readily achievable and thus, fixed providers should provide automatically provide at least a street address (must be validated). This requirement will be effective one year after the effective date of the Order.
  • Non-Fixed MLTS Devices Used On-Premise – These MLTS devices should be able to provide the automated dispatchable location when technically feasible but otherwise providers, may rely on the user to provide or confirm the information manually. Non-fixed, on premise providers also have the option to provide alternative location information (may include coordinate-based information), which should be sufficient to identify a caller’s civic address and approximate in-building location. This requirement will become effective two years after the effective date of the Order.
  • Non-Fixed MLTS Device Used Off-Premise – When a user is off premises during a 911 call, the MLTS operator or manager must provide (1) dispatchable location, if technically feasible, or, otherwise, either (2) manually-updated dispatchable location, or (3) enhanced location information, which may be coordinate-based, consisting of the best available location that can be obtained from any available technology or combination of technologies at reasonable cost. This requirement will become effective two years after the effective date of the Order.

• Interconnected VoIP – Similar to MLTS, the FCC recognized in the Order that there might be differences in the feasibility of providing dispatchable location information for fixed vs. non-fixed iVoIP services.
  • Fixed iVoIP – Fixed iVoIP providers will be required to automatically transmit to the PSAP a dispatchable location with a 911 call, but the Commission clarified that the location may be determined by the means of the registered location that customers supply to their provider. This requirement will be effective one year after the effective date of the Order.
  • Nomadic/Non-Fixed iVoIP – Non-fixed providers must automatically provide dispatchable location when technically feasible, but may also rely on the registered location and require the customer to update manually if the calling location is changed or different than the registered location. Non-fixed providers also have the option to rely on alternative location information and as a last resort, the provider may route a 911 call to a national emergency call center for the operator to ask the caller about his or her location. This requirement will become effective two years after the effective date of the Order.
  • Outbound-only VoIP – For the first time, the FCC imposed a 911 dialing requirement on services that only interconnect with the PSTN for outbound calls. (Prior to the Order, only two-way VoIP services had 911 obligations). The FCC also amends the definition of interconnected VoiP in the rules (as it relates to 911 purposes) to include outbound iVoIP. Outbound iVoIP providers must notify subscribers of e911 service limitations and comply with the same location requirements as nomadic/non-fixed providers. This requirement will become effective two years after the effective date of the Order.

• TRS – Fixed internet-based TRS providers are required to provide automated, validated dispatchable location for each call. This requirement will be effective one year after the effective date of the Order. Non-fixed internet-based TRS providers, however, will only have to comply with the same (more flexible) requirements as a non-fixed iVoIP provider and have the same two-year implementation period.

• Mobile Text – Text providers already subject to the 911 rules are required to provide (1) dispatchable location, if technically feasible, or, otherwise, either (2) end-user manual provision of dispatchable location, or (3) enhanced location information. This requirement becomes effective within two years after the effective date of the Order.

You will find more details on the significant March meeting items after the break:

Spectrum Horizons: The draft Order would establish a new type of experimental license for operations between 95 GHz and 3 THz, which the FCC asserts is ripe for next-generation, short-range data links and sensing applications. The new licenses would be available for a maximum 10-year term to encourage durable investments in experimental operations. The FCC also would permit licensees to sell experimental devices directly to the public – a major change from traditional FCC policy that limits such sales only to other experimental licensees. Moreover, the FCC expects to make more than 21 gigahertz available for unlicensed use in the 116-123 GHz, 174.8-182 GHz, 185-190 GHz, and 224-246 GHz bands. The proposal includes interference protections for current “passive” uses of the spectrum horizons frequencies, including radio astronomy, earth exploration satellites, and space research. The FCC would defer action on non-experimental licensed use of the spectrum horizons frequencies, but may initiate another rulemaking after assessing the results of newly-authorized experimental and unlicensed operations.

900 MHz Broadband: The draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) would seek to reconfigure the 900 MHz band (896-901 MHz and 935-940 MHz) to facilitate new broadband operations. Specifically, the FCC would request input on creating a paired segment of the band for wireless broadband operations, licensed on a county-by-county basis, while reserving the remainder of the band for existing private land mobile radio operations. The Commission also would inquire whether it should allocate the entire 900 MHz band to wireless broadband operations and relocate incumbents to other frequencies. The draft proposes three options for clearing out incumbent operations: (1) a voluntary exchange process allowing existing licensees to agree to a band transition plan with broadband providers in exchange for payment; (2) an auction of “overlay” licenses to broadband providers that would pay the relocation costs of incumbent operations; and (3) an incentive auction where incumbent operators would receive a payout based on the price of the new licenses won at auction. mobile now

Spectrum Partitioning, Disaggregation, and Leasing: The draft NPRM would implement part of the MOBILE NOW ACT enacted in 2018, which required the FCC to initiate a rulemaking exploring potential improvements to its spectrum partitioning, disaggregation, and leasing procedures to increase the availability of advanced telecommunications in rural areas and provided by smaller carriers. In particular, the NPRM would explore whether the FCC should ease the performance requirements imposed on partitioned or disaggregated licenses and reduce the procedural hurdles involved in secondary market spectrum transactions. The Commission also would seek input on incentivizing spectrum leasing arrangements by streamlining performance requirements while ensuring carriers still meet their buildout obligations.

911 Location Accuracy: The draft Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“FNPRM”) would ask whether the FCC should require wireless carriers to transmit vertical (or z-axis) location information to within three meters of the handset for 80 percent of 911 calls. The FCC plans to reject a more lenient, five-meter location accuracy standard proposed by CTI, which received criticism from public safety entities. The location information would assist first responders in finding callers in multi-story buildings and supplement already-required latitude and longitude data. The location accuracy requirement would apply to the four nationwide mobile carriers on April 3, 2021, within the top 25 Cellular Market Areas (“CMAs”), and apply to other mobile carriers a year later (April 3, 2022). The proposed transition beyond the top 25 CMAs extends another two years, until April 3, 2023, for CMAs 26-50, for the nationwide carriers, and through April 3, 2024, for other carriers in those markets. The FCC’s proposal concludes that nearly all smartphones in the market are equipped with barometric pressure sensors, but cites only to information about the iPhone 6 and later models and the Samsung Galaxy smartphones, which have had barometers since 2011. However, the draft FNPRM asks whether the requirements should only apply to devices manufactured after a date certain, which would help address the continued use of older and refurbished phones without sufficient barometric accuracy. See our post on this item here.

Rural Call Completion Standards: The draft Order would impose service quality standards on intermediate providers (i.e., entities that carry, but do not originate/terminate, voice calls) to improve rural call completion. Under the FCC’s plan, intermediate carriers would be required to take action when they know, or should know, that call completion issues exist. Intermediate carriers also would be required to actively monitor the performance of any other intermediate providers with which they directly contract and address performance issues, including by removing providers that consistently fail to deliver calls from their call routes. In addition, intermediate providers would be responsible for ensuring that any additional intermediate providers to which they hand off calls are registered once the FCC establishes an intermediate provider database later this year. The FCC would not dictate how the intermediate providers must satisfy these standards, providing some flexibility in carrier compliance efforts.

The FCC now appears ready to tentatively conclude that +/- 3 meters for 80 percent of calls is the appropriate standard to allow first responders to better locate people calling 911 from mobile devices in multi-story buildings. The proposed obligations would begin for the four nationwide mobile carriers on April 3, 2021, in the top 25 markets (i.e., CCMAs) and a year later for other mobile carriers. The proposed transition beyond the top 25 CMAs extends another two years, until April 3, 2023, for CMAs 26-50, for the nationwide carriers, and through April 3, 2024, for other carriers in those markets.

On behalf of the four nationwide mobile carriers, CTIA had submitted z-axis testing conducted with two vendors – NextNav LLC and Polaris Wireless, Inc. – and proposed a +/- 5 meter location accuracy standard for 80 percent of fixes from mobile devices. The vendors both used barometric sensor data from mobile handsets to establish location. CTIA had also called for additional testing, which might validate a more accurate metric, but NextNav and Polaris themselves supported a +/- 3 meter metric. In addition, the 5 meter metric was unanimously opposed by public safety entities as too imprecise because first responders could have to contend with a range of up to 2 floors both above and below the actual location of the mobile device. In December, CTIA and the four nationwide mobile carriers continued to call for more testing, but essentially accepted the inevitability that a +/- 3 meter standard would be proposed by the FCC.

The draft FNPRM also would seek comment on the 80 percent standard. The current rules mandate, in each CMA where z-axis technology is used nationwide, CMRS providers must deploy z-axis technology to cover 80 percent of the CMA population. However, the draft FNPRM proposes the accuracy standard for 80 percent of wireless E911 calls within the affected CMA. The draft FNPRM asks whether the metric should apply to 80 percent of all wireless calls (seeming to imply from all devices), or as CTIA proposed, only for calls from mobile devices capable of delivering barometric pressure sensor-based altitude estimates. Further, the draft FNPRM concludes that nearly all smartphones in the market are equipped with barometric pressure sensors, but cites only to information about iPhone 6 and later models and the Samsung Galaxy smartphones, which have had barometers since 2011. However, the draft FNPRM asks whether the requirements should only apply to devices manufactured after a date certain, which would help address the continued use of older and refurbished phones without sufficient barometric accuracy.

The draft FNPRM also would seek comment on other technologies that can help to accurately locate wireless 911 callers. If the FNPRM is adopted, comments will be due 45 days after it is published in the Federal Register and reply comments will be due 75 days after publication.

As stipulated in the FCC’s Text-to-911 Order from August 2014, Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) providers and other providers of interconnected text message service (collectively, “covered text providers”) must begin routing 911 text messages to requesting PSAPS within six months of notification that the PSAP is ready. The notice can come directly from a PSAP or by listing the PSAP on the Text-to-911 Registry posted on the FCC’s website.

Pursuant to rules adopted in the FCC’s August 2014 Text-to-911 Order, CMRS providers and other providers of interconnected text messaging applications (those that allow consumers to exchange texts with all or substantially all text-capable U.S. telephone numbers) were required to be text-to-911 capable by the end of 2014. Covered text providers have until June 30, 2015 or six months from the date of a PSAP request, whichever is later, to implement text-to-911 for that PSAP.

A PSAP’s written notification to a covered text provider triggers the obligation to implement text-to-911 for that PSAP within six months. In addition, a PSAP’s registration with the FCC’s Text-to-911 Registry triggers the obligation for covered text providers to begin routing emergency texts to that PSAP where applicable within six months. Many PSAPs registered before the end of 2014 and therefore the deadline was June 30, 3015. In the notice, the FCC said that the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (the “Bureau”) will no longer announce updates to the Text-to-911 Registry, but will update the online registry on a regular basis.

Going forward the expectation is for providers to regularly check for updates to the Text-to-911 Registry to review the text-readiness of PSAPs in their service areas and to coordinate implementation of text-to-911 service with them. The Text-to-911 Order created a requirement for covered text providers to determine the capability of PSAPs in their service areas to receive emergency texts, saying that “[c]overed text providers should periodically review the text-readiness of PSAPs in their service areas and reach out to these PSAPs as necessary to coordinate implementation of text-to-911 service.”

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Matthew Weinmann, a legal assistant, contributed to this post.