The FCC has adopted a Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, to improve the 911 network outage reporting framework, intended to “harmonize many of the requirements, including the timeframe, means, and frequency of providing notification.” In so doing, the FCC proposes to standardize notification information to ensure clarity and actionability. Service providers must currently report network outages to the FCC and 911 call centers. The existing rules have different requirements for providers servicing 911 call centers, and wireless, wireline and VoIP providers used to reach 911. The draft rules additionally propose requiring service providers to maintain accurate 911 call center contact information; and requiring service providers to notify potentially affected customers when 911 is unavailable, via websites and mobile apps.
The FCC has set comment and reply comment dates of 30 and 60 days from Federal Register publication, respectively. Federal Register publication is forthcoming.
