The first 911 call was made 50 years ago, long before wireless phones, texting, and Internet calling were used for everyday communications. Congress and the FCC regularly propose and adopt laws and regulations to keep pace with ever-changing technology. Those efforts continue today with the release by the FCC of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to implement two bills recently adopted by Congress to improve 911 emergency calling.
The first, Kari’s Law, requires multi-line telephone systems (“MLTS”) in the United States to allow users to dial 911 directly, without having to dial a “9” or any other prefix to reach an outside line. The law was enacted in February in honor of a Texas woman who was fatally stabbed in a hotel room by her estranged husband in 2013. The woman’s nine-year-old daughter was in the room at the time and repeatedly tried dialing 911, but did not know that an extra “9” was needed to reach an outside line.
Though the focus here was on hotel phone services, the application to MLTS makes the impact much broader. MLTS are telephone systems used in settings such as office buildings, campuses, and hotels. Kari’s Law also requires that such systems transmit a notification to an appropriate on-site or third-party contact, such as a front desk or security office, when a 911 call is made.
Under the proposed rules, the direct dialing requirement would be mandatory for “persons engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, selling, or leasing MLTS, as well as persons engaged in the business of installing, managing, or operating MLTS.” The notification requirement would mandate that a “person engaged in the business of installing, managing, or operating MLTS shall, in installing, managing, or operating the system, configure it to provide a notification that a 911 call has been placed by a caller on the MLTS system.” The notification would be required to include, at a minimum, the following information: (1) that the 911 call has been made; (2) a valid callback number; and (3) the caller’s location. In addition, to ensure timely notifications, the FCC proposes that notifications be transmitted at the same time as the 911 call.
The statutorily mandated compliance date of Kari’s Law is February 16, 2020, and only applies to MLTS that are “manufactured, imported, offered for first sale or lease, first sold or leased, or installed” after that date. Other MLTS are grandfathered from compliance.
The NPRM also proposes rules to implement RAY BAUM’S Act, which was enacted in March and requires that the FCC conduct a proceeding that considers adopting rules that require “dispatchable location” be transmitted to 911 call centers, regardless of the technological platform used. Dispatchable location is defined in the NPRM as “the street address of the calling party, and additional information such as room number, floor number, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.” Currently, when a 911 call is made in an MLTS environment such as a large campus or hotel, the location may be included in the information sent to the 911 call center, but that location may be the site’s main entrance or an administrative office and not the precise location of the caller.
Under the proposed rules, the transmission of a dispatchable location would be required for MLTS, fixed telephone service, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services, and Telecommunications Relay Service. The FCC seeks comment on the technical feasibility of the requirement, a comparison of the costs and benefits, and whether the requirement should be extended to any other 911-capable services, such as outbound-only VoIP. The proposed compliance date is February 16, 2020, to coincide with the compliance date of Kari’s Law.
Comment on the FCC’s proposals will be due 45 days after the NPRM’s publication in the Federal Register, with reply comments due 30 days after that date.