WASHINGTON-Congress returns to work this week to a brewing controversy over funding for first responders and what to do when states raid wireless enhanced 911 funds like North Carolina did on June 30.
The action by North Carolina comes as the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to consider legislation that would punish states that raid their wireless E911 funds to cover other expenses by barring new E911 grants if states have dipped into their E911 funds.
North Carolina had been a leader in finding cost-recovery measures for implementing E911 services. But its legislature passed a budget that included taking $57 million over the next two years from the E911 fund, said Richard Taylor, executive director of the North Carolina Wireless 911 Board and president of the National Emergency Numbering Association.
The legislation will not touch the current balance, but will eliminate financing for the E911 fund by sending 911 tax money straight to North Carolina’s general treasury instead of the E911 fund.
This could essentially stop wireless E911 deployment in its tracks because public safety answering points will no longer have a cost-recovery mechanism in place. Such a mechanism is required by the Federal Communications Commission before a wireless carrier is required to deploy E911, said Taylor.
“The PSAP requests are no longer valid because cost recovery is no longer valid,” said Taylor. “The carriers will probably no longer be deploying because cost recovery is no longer valid.”
Carriers that continue to deploy E911 services will be paid at some point, with interest, said Taylor.
All six major carriers, Alltel Communications Inc., Leap Wireless Communications Inc. and some rural players serve North Carolina, said Taylor.
One of those six nationwide carriers, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. last week updated the FCC on its GSM E911 deployment. AT&T Wireless has completed validation testing of the network-based solution provided by the Grayson Wireless division of Allen Telecom Inc. It also met the June 30 benchmarks contained in its consent decree.
Public safety’s connection to wireless telephony is a looming issue in a post-9/11 world. A report by the Council on Foreign Relations said first responders need more money and national standards to be able to deal with the next potential terrorist attack.
CFR convened a blue-ribbon panel, which suggested $98.4 billion as the minimum needed for emergency response. The Department of Homeland Security reportedly said this amount was “grossly overstated.” DHS requested $3.5 billion for first responders for fiscal year 2004. DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
Richard Clarke, formerly the cyber-security czar at the White House, said this $3.5 billion number was pulled out of the air. “Congress is being forced to work with one arm tied behind their backs because these numbers have been pulled out of the air,” said Clarke.
Standards are necessary to quantify how much money is needed so Congress will know what it is getting for the money spent, said Clarke.
Besides being underfunded, 911 dispatchers also have to contend with the number of 911 calls that are not emergencies. In an attempt to curb this problem, the FCC has authorized localities to use 311 for non-emergency calls.
On another front, the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association on June 30 sent a letter to Congress requesting funding for wireless priority access service.
“For several years, many of our members have been working with officials at the National Communications System to develop a voluntary, workable and efficient system to provide this important homeland security capability,” wrote Steven Berry, CTIA senior vice president of governmental affairs. “However, achieving this goal will require significant enhancements to existing commercial networks in order to accommodate the rapidly growing government demand for WPS.”
WPS has not been properly funded, said Berry.
