FCC Will Vote at January Meeting on Location-Based Routing, Disaster Reporting Rules

An order set for a vote during the FCC’s Jan. 25 open meeting would require nationwide wireless carriers to implement location-based routing (LBR) for calls to 911 within six months of approval, according to a draft order released Thursday. Smaller carriers would have 24 months. Both would be required to use the technology for real-time texts within two years. An order and further notice on outage reporting during disasters would make updating the FCC's disaster information reporting system mandatory for cable, wireline, wireless and VoIP providers and seek comment on doing the same for broadcasters, satellite providers and broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers.

The FCC also released drafts of items targeting more intense use of the 70/80/90 GHz bands and a reconsideration order on its 2020 orbital debris order, clarifying numerous rules and applicability issues but shooting down multiple challenges satellite operators raised (see 2401030068).

The LBR draft proposes requiring carriers to deploy the technology nationwide for wireless voice calls and real-time texts to 911 originating on their IP-based networks when the information available to the network is ascertainable within a radius of 165 meters at a confidence level of at least 90%. Alternately, providers would use other routing methods “based on ‘best available’ location information,” which may include but isn’t limited to device-based or tower-based location data.

The 2022 NPRM cited nearly 23 million wireless calls per year that may be routed to the wrong public safety answering point using legacy 911 systems. “We can fix this, and we should,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at the time (see 2212210047).

The record confirms LBR is “technologically feasible and will significantly reduce wireless 911 voice call transfers, saving valuable time for both PSAPs and callers,” the draft says: “As a result of the … rules we adopt today, millions more wireless 911 calls will reach the appropriate PSAP without the need for transfer or delay.” Since wireless 911 voice calls “account for the vast majority of communications to 911, we consider it to be particularly important that these calls are routed to the appropriate PSAP,” the routing draft contends.

Carriers large and small raised concerns in response to a December 2022 LBR NPRM, with many urging a voluntary approach (see 2302170044). Relying on providers' voluntary implementation would “result in inconsistent routing of calls to PSAPs and a higher risk of 911 misroutes for subscribers on [carrier] networks that did not support location-based routing,” the draft says.

Major carriers didn’t tell the FCC they couldn’t comply within six months, the draft says: “The Commission has previously recognized that non-nationwide … providers can face obstacles that warrant additional time for compliance beyond the time afforded to nationwide … providers during technology transitions.” Smaller providers “may have difficulty obtaining necessary commitments from device makers, technology vendors, and software service providers to implement location-based routing within a time frame that would be feasible for nationwide … providers.”

Outage Reporting

The outage reporting draft order proposes requiring service providers that previously filed DIRS outage reports on a voluntary basis to do so whenever the system is activated in their service area and submit final reports to the FCC within 24 hours of DIRS deactivation. The draft order would impose that requirement on cable, wireline, wireless and VoIP providers, while the Further NPRM would seek comment on extending a similar one to broadcasters, satellite providers and BIAS providers.

The voluntary nature of DIRS is “beneficial,” but “it cannot work to its fullest potential unless we expand the aperture of who reports in the system, and enhance the fidelity of the data to allow for more effective decision making” by requiring reports during disasters, said the draft outage order. The item connects the issue of outage reporting to the recent Maui wildfires and says that event made the FCC “mindful” of its responsibility for ensuring communication services are restored.

An FNPRM would also seek comment on whether any broadcast reporting requirement for network outage reporting system and DIRS should be simplified to “reflect the limited resources available to these entities,” along with how much FirstNet should be subject to DIRS or NORS reporting requirements, and whether the NORS reporting thresholds for satellite providers need updating.

The draft high-band order proposes rules allowing point-to-point links to endpoints in motion in the 70 GHz and 80 GHz bands under Part 101 rules, for aeronautical and maritime users. It would change FCC rules to facilitate the use of the 70 and 80 GHz bands for backhaul, including through the use of smaller antennas and adoption of a channelization plan consistent with an ITU recommendation.

The draft would adopt rules aimed at improving the accuracy of the link registration database for the 70, 80 and 90 GHz bands, “including a requirement that licensees certify that each link is constructed and operating within 12 months of successful registration in the link registration system.” A FNPRM seeks comment on the potential inclusion of fixed satellite service earth stations in the third-party database registration system in the 70 GHz and 80 GHz bands.

“Air-to-air transmissions present a unique set of characteristics in terms of the potential for interaction with other services, in both the same and adjacent bands, and accordingly, considerable attention has been paid to how harmful interference from such transmissions might be avoided,” the high-band draft says: “Although the record in this proceeding is slim with respect to maritime operations, it generally supports technical and operational restrictions on transmissions to and from ship, shore, and aerostat stations that are parallel to those adopted for airborne transmissions.”

The 2020 orbital debris order saw multiple reconsideration petitions by satellite operators (see 2009250070). In the draft recon order, the FCC dismissed those petitions. However, it said the draft recon order provides guidance on issues the petitions raised. Debris mitigation disclosure requirements for non-U.S. flagged satellites sought by SpaceX could be “more burdensome than necessary” for the FCC to determine if the applicant is subject to effective regulatory oversight, it said. In addition, it said FCC staff can seek more information in an area where the foreign regulator doesn’t require the same level of detail as the commission. The agency said that rather than the orbital separation requirement Kuiper had sought between large non-geostationary orbit constellations, the best route to maintaining space safety is giving operators flexibility to coordinate in ways that work best for them.