Industries
FCC Extends VoIP 911 Deadline
VoIP providers won't be penalized over 911 service waivers until the end of October.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said it would give VoIP providers more time to receive acknowledgements from customers if their network doesn’t provide access to 911 emergency lines.
The FCC said it won’t begin enforcing the rule until October 31, instead of this Wednesday, but only if the VoIP providers submit a status report by October 25. Many VoIP providers have already submitted reports, and the FCC has felt encouraged so far by the level of compliance.
The growing VoIP market has started to displace standard telephone service as Internet companies such as Vonage, as well as cable companies and even traditional phone companies, offer VoIP as a less expensive alternative.
Access to the 911 network remains a thorny problem for many VoIP providers, and until the problems can be fixed, the FCC has required that VoIP companies at least notify their customers of the limitations and receive an acknowledgement that the customers are aware they may not be able to reach 911.
‘It seems the FCC did not handle this particularly well.’ -Brian Washburn, Current Analysis
“It is evident that many providers have devoted significant resources to notifying each of their subscribers of the limitations of their 911 service and obtaining acknowledgements from each of their subscribers,” said the FCC public notice.
The September reports indicate that at least 21 VoIP providers received acknowledgements from 100 percent of their subscribers. Another 32 VoIP companies have obtained acknowledgements from 90 percent or more of their customers.
Shutdown Averted
The extension prevents a total shutdown of service to VoIP customers who have not responded to the request for a waiver.
“The whole idea was pretty preposterous,” said Brian Washburn, an analyst with Current Analysis. “Either you get them onto 911 or else you’re forced to disconnect them. It seems the FCC did not handle this particularly well. They could only say we want 911 and do it, or else. It’s no surprise that they’ve extended it. I don’t know what else they would be able to do.”
Nevertheless, the FCC intends to keep pushing the VoIP providers to receive acknowledgements from all of their customers and eventually to make sure their customers can reach 911.
“To the extent that a provider has not received acknowledgements from at least 90 percent of its subscribers, we intend to continue forbearing from enforcement of our acknowledgement requirement until October 31, 2005 , provided that these providers submit a status report to us by October 25, 2005 ,” said the notice.
The FCC had required the VoIP operators to comply with the rule within 120 days after it was issued, and VoIP companies complained that wireless carriers had been given years to comply with a similar request.
The deadline extension could be a response to the efforts of several VoIP providers, such as Nuvio, to get their own extensions from the FCC (see Nuvio Seeks Delay on VoIP 911).
The extension will apply to Nuvio as well as to other companies, giving them some extra time to warn their customers.
Still, the VoIP providers will need to continue to make an effort to connect their networks to the emergency 911 networks. According to an FCC spokesperson, the deadline for that to happen is November 28, and that deadline has not been extended.
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The US Federal Communications Commission has extended the deadline for Enhanced 911 compliance by  (Voice over Internet Protocol) providers until Oct 31, 2005.  Last May, the FCC issued an order requiring VoIP providers to implement E911 within 120 days. This order also required providers to notify customers of the 911 limitations. Customers who did not acknowledge these limitations would have their services terminated. 

This extension gives providers extra time to connect the networks to 911 services, and warn users of the limitations.  If the FCC had not granted this extension, at least 10,000 users would have been disconnected.

According to the FCC at least 21 VoIP providers have received an acknowledgment from all customers of the 911 limitations. 32 additional VoIP providers have received an acknowledgment from 90 percent or more of their customers. VoIP providers who have not met the 90% goal could face enforcement proceedings starting October 31, 2005.

FCC said in a statement “it is evident that many providers have devoted significant resources to notifying each of their subscribers of the limitations of their 911 service and obtaining acknowledgements from each of their subscribers.”