WASHINGTON-Citing the significant progress and resources spent by interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol providers to warn their customers that calls to 911 may not go through, the Federal Communications Commission said again Tuesday it will not enforce the latest of three deadlines regarding notification.
“It is evident that many providers have devoted significant resources to notify each of their subscribers of the limitations of their 911 service and obtaining acknowledgments from each of their subscribers,” said the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau. “By repeatedly prompting subscribers through a variety of means, the majority of providers submitting September reports have obtained acknowledgments from nearly, if not all, of their subscribers.”
The FCC said in May that at the end of June any customer who did not acknowledge understanding the limitations of VoIP when dialing 911 had to be cut off. The commission extended this deadline to the end of August and then again to Sept. 28. Last week FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he had no intention of extending the deadline but did say the most important deadline is Nov. 28, when all VoIP providers must offer enhanced 911 to their customers.
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Had the FCC stuck to its guns, VoIP providers faced a difficult choice. If they cut off a customer and that customer then tried to dial 911 and was unsuccessful, the VoIP providers theoretically could be liable because they have not received liability protection. Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) strongly criticized Martin about VoIP 911 at last week’s hearing on issues related to Hurricane Katrina. “There are safety issues involved with people being cut off from their communications service,” said Sununu.
The Enforcement Bureau said it will not enforce the notification requirements on VoIP providers that have received acknowledgement from less than 90 percent of their customers until Oct. 31 and expects these VoIP providers to submit progress reports Oct. 25. The Enforcement Bureau said it expects all carriers to continue notifying their customers about the limitation of VoIP 911 and to report when 100-percent acknowledgment has been achieved.