* FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein speaks on E-911 ruling
Last Thursday, we had the chance to hear from FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein at a TelecomHub lunch just hours after the FCC ruled that VoIP providers will have 120 days to provide E-911 services to their subscribers.
In a unanimous vote, the FCC came down on the side of public safety, which in the words of Adelstein was its “moral obligation.” The commission heard from many parties, including emergency agencies and VoIP subscribers who have suffered personal tragedy because their VoIP-based service call wasn’t immediately connected to an emergency service agency:http://www.networkworld.com/net.worker/news/2005/051905-fcc-voip.html
According to Adelstein, the FCC expects some 7 million to 10 million VoIP subscribers in the next few years, and the FCC 120-day ruling reflects a sense of urgency on behalf of public safety. The FCC ruling also requires VoIP providers to offer a way for “nomadic subscribers” to be offered a means to update their location when it changes.
Technical requirements were not available by press time, but we expect them soon and will report on the details as they become available.
Adelstein noted that the FCC is not trying to slow the deployment of VoIP. In fact, the commission believes IP-based services are going to improve emergency services with increased capabilities like providing patient records to emergency teams en route to a hospital or allowing pictures to be sent to emergency centers by callers.
We’ll report on other comments from Adelstein in our next newsletter.
Special thanks go to TelecomHub for arranging the session. TelecomHUB is a non-profit networking organization for Washington, D.C.-area senior telecom and industry-related professionals. It provides a high-quality forum for information exchange, education and networking throughout D.C., Virginia and Maryland.
Disclaimer: Current Analysis (Larry’s employer) is a corporate sponsor of TelecomHUB.
