EAAC Identifies NG911 Accessibility Gaps

July 2013 —The Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a report outlining “gaps in NENA i3 NG9-1-1 specifications related to EAAC Accessibility reports.” The report reviews the NENA Functional and Interface Standards for Next Generations 9-1-1 (NENA i3), a document widely used in the development of NG9-1-1, and notes that certain gaps in the NENA i3 may prevent accessibility within NG9-1-1.  Specifically, the EAAC notes that future versions of NENA i3 need to address many items, including the need for standards to address emergency calls using a relay service, the use of media communication line services, transferring and call-back procedures relating to multi-media calls, joint use of text and voice in emergency calls, and silent call procedures.  Although the EAAC notes that issues with accessibility remain in the current version of the NENA i3, they also note that “the NENA i3 08-003 specification represents a tremendous accomplishment in establishing the framework for accessible NG9-1-1 communications, and the list of gaps in no way overshadows or diminishes the work done to date.”