Subject: [NEXTEL-1] REMARKS OF MICHAEL K. POWELL CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION AT THE THIRD E911 COORDINATION INITIATIVE

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 19:02:09 -0400

REMARKS OF MICHAEL K. POWELL CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

AT THE THIRD E911 COORDINATION INITIATIVE.

APRIL 27, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C.

I am pleased to be here today to welcome you to the third meeting of the
Commission’s Wireless E911 Coordination Initiative.  First, I want to
take a moment to applaud the efforts of the state coordinators, the
public safety community, and wireline and wireless carriers to
accelerate E911 deployment. We recognize that this is a complex process
that involves many stakeholders. Coordination, communication, and
cooperation are the keys to success in the rapidly changing
communications landscape. From the personnel at the PSAP who first
receive the call for help, through the dispatcher, to the EMS team that
responds on the scene of the emergency, there must be a common purpose,
an ability to communicate and work together as part of one network and
one team. I recently traveled to Johnson County, Kansas, where I met
with PSAP staff and the local police and sheriffs departments, including
Colonel Walter Way, who will be participating in one of our roundtables
tomorrow. I was able to see first hand what a difference E911 makes in
the field. All of you strive every day to make certain that the vision
is realized, and I just want to say, well done.

Last August, at the APCO Conference, I asked that we take the new spirit
of cooperation and begin a lasting “Era of Accomplishment.” I was
energized then, and remain so today about the progress that is being
made to deploy E911. I specifically want to thank the National Governors
Association for their continuing efforts on E911 deployment. Last
August, we had just begun our relationship with NGA on E911. I remember
speaking at the APCO Conference about our new partnership with them and
the integral role NGA would play in helping advance the cause. NGA has
robustly answered the call to action. First, they partnered in our
second Coordination Initiative last October and, I don’t want to steal
their thunder, but tomorrow Ray Scheppach, NGA’s Executive Director,
will unveil the fruits of their labor. State governments are also vital
partners in these efforts and, with continued work by NGA and others, we
can achieve our E911 goals.

Let me also thank my fellow Commissioners, each of whom will be
participating today and tomorrow, and each of whom is dedicated to this
issue.

When I first became Chairman, mobile phones were already a ubiquitous
part of the personal communications landscape, and consumer expectations
regarding wireless 911 services were increasing. This year, with than
150 million cell phone users, wireless minutes outpaced wireline minutes
for the first time. It is no surprise, then, that in some parts of the
country, more than half the 911 calls are wireless.

Update on Deployment

Despite the primary obstacles to full deployment – time and money, E911
is being deployed, has already saved many lives, and will save many more
as the pace of deployment continues to quicken. Just last month, Rhode
Island told us about a young woman, Kelly Carrington, whose life was
saved because wireless E911 permitted rescuers to find her after a car
accident. I know that Ray LaBelle, who is Governor Carcieri’s designated
contact for us on wireless E911 matters, could not be here this week,
but I want to recognize him nonetheless.

When I spoke to many of you at our Coordination Initiative meeting last
October, I outlined the significant progress we had made. I am happy to
report that we are, indeed, in the “Era of Accomplishment.” In the past
six months, deployment has grown steadily, and 900 more PSAPs out of the
over 5,000 PSAPs across the country are now capable of receiving Phase
II location information. Rhode Island and Vermont are the first states
to report that they have implemented Phase II in 100% of their PSAPs.
Tennessee is expected to join this list in June. As we look down the
road, I know that there is still more to be done, and we must continue
down that path to achieve these goals for the American people.

Building Public-Private Partnerships to Enhance E911 Availability

As we continue to promote coordination of federal, state, and local
governments, we also recognize the value of encouraging public/private
partnerships that maximize local assets and we need to find better and
faster paths to providing consumers’ access to E911. I would be remiss
to discuss public/private partnerships, and not commend the work that
ESIF is doing on E911. I am eager to hear from a newcomer to our
Coordination Initiative, Christine Fischer, from the Valley
Communications Center in Kent, Washington, that discovered early on --
many, many years ago, in fact – what public/private partnerships can do
to enhance public safety.  As was discussed at the Commission’s IP
Solutions Summit last month, the agreement between NENA and the Voice On
the Net (VON) Coalition on how voice over IP providers will deliver
location information to PSAPs exemplifies what can be achieved 3 from
public/private partnerships. While the Commission grapples with this
issue, it is encouraging to know that consumers are being provided some
basic level of E911 capability for VoIP services.
Improving Accuracy

We need to continue to improve the effectiveness of location-capability
in challenging areas. To assist this process, I announced the
establishment of a technical group to focus on E911 network architecture
and technical standards issues. This subcommittee of the Network
Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC), headed by Tim Donahue,
Chairman and CEO of Nextel Communications, held its first meeting last
month. Measuring and improving the accuracy of E911 location information
will be a priority. NRIC VII will also look at the issues and the
opportunities presented by IP protocol and open network architecture for
E911 and public safety.  This hard work should result in more accurate
and reliable E911 service to wireless subscribers across the nation,
whether in small rural communities or big urban corridors. There may be
deployment challenges in bringing E911 location capability to
geographically challenging environments, but the lifesaving capabilities
of the service are too vital not to be extended to all subscribers,
including rural subscribers.  We also will continue our work on
multi-line telephone systems. As we stated in the Scope Order, we plan
later this year to find out what states have been able to do over the
course of a year. While many may need more time to act, the danger
associated with not having location technology for these systems is only
growing, and E911 capability is just as vital to consumers in this
circumstance as with wireless. I know that we will be hearing tomorrow
from two states – Illinois and Washington – that are leading the way to
ensure that first responders have this tool and consumers have this
service.  I pledge to continue to do my part to make E911 a number one
priority in our federal government. I know we will all do our part. We
owe it to the American people to keep up this hard work. Thank you for
your participation, and enjoy the rest of the meeting.

 http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-246491A1.pdf

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