Wireless RERC - Text-to-911

Text-to-911 and NG911 Policy Study

mz22 — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 21:36:47 +0000

Publication Type:

November 2016 – The Wireless RERC published a research brief summarizing the results of a study of 9-1-1 policies at the state and local levels in relation to text-to-911 and next generation 9-1-1 (NG911) deployments in the United States. The brief is a high-level summary of state emergency communications offices and public-safety answering point (PSAP) policies regarding text-to-911 and/or NG911 as it relates to people with disabilities’ access to emergency services. The purpose of the study was to identify the extent to which content regarding individuals with disabilities was included in state and local text-to-911 and NG-911 policies.

Related Files:

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Research Brief - NG911 Policy Study.docx	32.23 KB

FCC Posts Two New Videos in American Sign Language

mz22 — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 13:12:22 +0000

American Sign Language (ASL)

deaf

hard of hearing

Text-to-911

ASL Videos Posted by the FCC

October 2014 – The FCC posted two new videos this month that include American Sign Language (ASL) interpretations of information concerning emergency services and the FCC’s Advanced Video Communications Platform and in ASL Video. The original video that was posted in June 2014 provided information about the launch of an ASL Consumer Support Line that allows people who are deaf and hard of hearing to use the service via videophone. In order to reach the population of people whose primary language is ASL, the FCC’s outreach and education is beginning to include ASL versions of materials otherwise presented in text and/or audio. The two additional videos were provided by the FCC’s Disability Rights Office and discuss telecommunications.

Advanced Video Communications Platform: Overview about the purpose and functionality of the upcoming Advanced Video Communication Platform, a tool to ensure the efficiency and competition of Video Relay Service (VRS) and the interoperability of VRS and video point to point communication.
The Text to 9-1-1 in ASL Video: Information about the FCC’s recent action on the Text-to-911 rulemaking in order to promote the availability of the service.

For additional information about the FCC’s Disability Rights Office and to view these videos, please click here.

All Wireless Providers Required to Support Text-to-911

mz22 — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:33:47 +0000

Text-to-911

FCC Adopts Rules to Promote Widespread Text-To-911 Availability

August 2014 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a press release August 8, 2014 establishing compliance deadlines for text-to-911 services. The adopted rules complement previous voluntary commitments made by the top four wireless carriers to support text-to-911 by May 2014. In addition to AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-mobile, certain IP-based text applications and the remaining wireless carriers are expected to support text-to-911 by the end of the year. The rulemaking establishes a six-month grace period after that time, should 911 call centers request the service in their area. For additional information, please click the link below.

Wireless RERC Makes Text-to-911 Recommendations

mz22 — Wed, 07 May 2014 21:21:41 +0000

Text-to-911

Next Generation 911 (NG911)

Publication Type:

Policy Filings

May 2014 – The Wireless RERC filed reply comments to the FCC’s Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding Facilitating the Deployment of Text-to911 and Other Next Generation 911 Applications. In accord with Sprint’s comments, the Wireless RERC agreed that, while relay service providers perform a valuable role in providing telecommunications access for people with disabilities, within the context of 911 calls relay services are not ideal. TRS relies on a third party to convey information from the caller to the call taker and back again, adding time, which in an emergency is of the utmost importance. Based on its research findings, the Wireless RERC recommended a focus on mobile SMS and over the top text (OTT) messaging services as the interim NG911 solution, as both were identified as two of the most preferred methods for people with hearing and speech disabilities to contact emergency services. The comments provided are in favor of regulating the Carrier-NENA-APCP Agreement, so as to ensure consistent access to the service and regulatory parity amongst providers. If the FCC decides not to regulate, the Wireless RERC recommended that the FCC follow the model used with Wireless Emergency Alerts (formerly CMAS) in that providers were required to formally elect to participate in the program, and upon election to participate rules concerning deployment became applicable. Please visit the link below to review the comments in their entirety.

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Reply Comments (wRERC Final)_5.2014_2ndFNPRM_Text-to-911.docx	57.47 KB

FCC Launches New Website for Text-to-911

mz22 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:43:58 +0000

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Text-to-911

FCC Blog Post

FCC Text-to-911 Best Practices Website

March 2014 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched a new website this week highlighting best practices currently in place for implementation of text-to-911. The website is designed to provide resources for text providers and public safety answering points (PSAPs), including lessons learned by the State of Vermont during their text-to-911 rollout and information on various technology solutions that can be used for text-to-911 implementations. Currently the site provides sources from public safety organizations, such as the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, in addition to states where text-to-911 has been deployed. Going forward the site is meant to be an interactive “tool enabling text providers and PSAPs to contribute and refer to comments, best practices, and informational materials.

FCC Seeks Comment on Rules To Implement Text-to-911

mz22 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 14:38:20 +0000

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Text-to-911

FCC 2nd FNPRM

March 2014 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in the Matter of Facilitating the Development of Text-to-911 and Other Next Generation 911 Applications and Framework for Next Generation 911 Deployment [PS Docket No. 10-255 and PS Docket No. 11-153] regarding the implementation of text-to-911. Primarily, the FCC seeks comment on the feasibility of a proposed timeframe, which would require text-to-911 to be made available by all text providers by December 31, 2014. Additionally the FCC seeks comment on location accuracy of emergency texts, “delivery of text over non-cellular data channels,” and the use of text-to-911 for consumers who may be outside of their typical network and considered “roaming.” A final concern presented in the FNPRM is that of relay services used by individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities. Accordingly, the FCC seeks comment on whether relay services should provide text-to-text and text-to-voice services “to support communication with [Public Safety Answering Points]” for consumers. Comments on the document are due April 4, 2014 and reply comments are due May 5, 2014.

FCC Open Meeting: The IP Transition and Text-to-911

mz22 — Wed, 05 Feb 2014 15:50:12 +0000

Internet Protocol (IP) Transition

Text-to-911

Archived Webcast

FCC Press Release: Technology Transition

FCC Press Release: Text-to-911

January 2014 — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held an open meeting regarding the considerations for a Report and Order and Notices of Proposed Rulemaking to address both technology transition experiments and policy goals regarding widespread implementation of public safety measures. Following the meeting the FCC announced the launch of voluntary experiments regarding the technology transitions in communications networks. The experiments will focus on ways to ensure that regardless of technology, public safety communications networks remain functional and that “all Americans have access to affordable communications services” without sacrificing consumer protection. Information from the experiments will be used by the FCC to guide future legal and policy choices. Also resulting from the meeting, the FCC encouraged all text providers to deploy text-to-911. The Commission notes that while the nation’s four largest wireless providers have committed to make text-to-911 available for their customers, the effort to ensure all text providers enable this service is imperative due to “Americans’ increasing reliance on text messaging.” The archived webcast of the meeting and supporting documentation can be accessed at: http://www.fcc.gov/events/open-commission-meeting-january-2014.

Mixed Progress Toward Text-to-911

mz22 — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 20:07:55 +0000

Text-to-911

National Emergency Number Association (NENA)

NENA News Release

July 2013 — Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile released reports outlining their progress to deployment of text-to-911. These reports were issued following an agreement made between the wireless providers, the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), and APCO International to offer text-to-911 services to subscribers. The reports note that while the four providers all deliver bounce-back messages to subscribers who attempt to send text messages to 911 in areas where the services is not yet provided, each provider is currently in a different state of text-to-911 deployment. Sprint recently completed a six-month trial of various vendors and will soon make a selection, while AT&T is set to begin a trial of text-to-911 later this year. T-Mobile has selected a vendor and is working to develop an “interim” text-to-911 solution. Finally, Verizon is working with Telecommunication Systems Inc. (TCS) to deploy text-to-911. Through Verizon, the service is currently available in eleven jurisdictions in North Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Texas, New York, and Maryland, and is scheduled to deploy in additional locations later this year.

9-1-1 & Alert Trends for People with Disabilities

mz22 — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 15:44:03 +0000

Next Generation 911 (NG911)

Text-to-911

accessibility

Publication Type:

Presentations

June 2013 — Wireless RERC principal investigator, Dr. Helena Mitchell, presented 9-1-1 & Alert Trends for People with Disabilities at the National Emergency Number Associations’ (NENA) annual conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. NENA’s educational tracks, among other things, addressed NG911, accessibility, text-to-911, public outreach, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). NENA hosted thousands of public safety professionals, telecommunications specialists, and federal, state, and local policymakers for a week of discussions, presentations and demonstrations aimed at developing an understanding the near and long-term issues facing public safety and the skills needed to address challenges.

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NENA_2013 FINAL_with alt text_no bckgrnd graphics.pdf	1.18 MB

Using TTY Terminals as a Text-to-911 Solution

mz22 — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 17:12:23 +0000

TTY

Text-to-911

Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC)

public safety answering points (PSAPs)

Proposed procedures for the TTY as a text terminal in legacy 9-1-1 PSAPs without IP connection

June 2013 — The Emergency Access Advisory Committee (EAAC) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a report entitled Proposed Procedures for the TTY as a text terminal in legacy 9-1-1 PSAPs without IP Connection, which outlines the use of TTY terminals as a text-to-911 interim solution for Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) without IP connectivity. The report highlights that TTY may lack some capabilities often used in SMS text messages. For example, TTY messages have a limited set of characters available for use, are unable to use both upper and lowercase letters in the same message, and only one message can be transmitted at a time, otherwise “character loss or garbling occurs.” However, despite the limitations, for those PSAPs without IP connection, the EAAC notes that the use of an application for message-to-TTY conversion can allow interim solutions for those PSAPs to receive and respond to text-to-911 messages. According to the EAAC, the roll-out of text-to-911 will be intermittent, which may cause confusion for consumers who may be able to send an SMS message in one county but not the next. The EAAC therefore notes the importance of trying to make text-to-911 interoperable with legacy technology.