[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2418 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2418

    To promote and enhance public safety and to encourage the rapid 
                deployment of IP-enabled voice services.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 18, 2005

  Mr. Gordon (for himself, Mr. Shimkus, and Ms. Eshoo) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To promote and enhance public safety and to encourage the rapid 
                deployment of IP-enabled voice services.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``IP-Enabled Voice Communications and 
Public Safety Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY SERVICE.

    (a) 911 and E-911 Services.--Notwithstanding section 2(b) or any 
other provision of the Communications Act of 1934, the Commission shall 
prescribe regulations to establish a set of requirements or obligations 
on providers of IP-enabled voice service to ensure that 911 and E-911 
services are available to customers to IP-enabled voice service. Such 
regulations shall include an appropriate transition period by which to 
comply with such requirements or obligations and take into 
consideration available industry technological and operational 
standards, including network security.
    (b) Non-Discriminatory Access to Capabilities.--Each entity with 
ownership or control of the necessary emergency services infrastructure 
shall provide any requesting IP-enabled voice service provider with 
nondiscriminatory access to their equipment, network, databases, 
interfaces and any other related capabilities necessary for the 
delivery and completion of 911 and E911 calls and information related 
to such 911 or E911 calls. Such access shall be consistent with 
industry standards established by the National Emergency Number 
Association or other applicable industry standards organizations. Such 
entity shall provide access to the infrastructure at just and 
reasonable, nondiscriminatory rates, terms and conditions. The 
telecommunications carrier or other entity shall provide such access to 
the infrastructure on a stand-alone basis.
    (c) State Authority.--Nothing in this Act, the Communications Act 
of 1934, or any Commission regulation or order shall prevent the 
imposition on or collection from a provider of voice services, 
including IP-enabled voice services, of any fee or charge specifically 
designated or presented as dedicated by a State, political subdivision 
thereof, or Indian tribe on an equitable, and non-discriminatory basis 
for the support of 911 and E-911 services if no portion of the revenue 
derived from such fee or charge is obligated or expended for any 
purpose other than support of 911 and E-911 services or enhancements of 
such services.
    (d) Standard.--The Commission may establish regulations imposing 
requirements or obligations on providers of voice services, entities 
with ownership or control of emergency services infrastructure under 
subsections (a) and (b) only to the extent that the Commission 
determines such regulations are technologically and operationally 
feasible.
    (e) Customer Notice.--Prior to the compliance with the rules as 
required by subsection (a), a provider of an IP-enabled voice service 
that is not capable of providing 911 and E-911 services shall provide a 
clear and conspicuous notice of the unavailability of such services to 
each customer at the time of entering into a contract for such service 
with that customer.
    (f) Voice Service Provider Responsibility.--An IP-enabled voice 
service provider shall have the sole responsibility for the proper 
design, operation, and function of the 911 and E911 access capabilities 
offered to the provider's customers.
    (g) Parity of Protection for Provision or Use of IP-Enabled Voice 
Service.--
            (1) Provider parity.--If a provider of an IP-enabled voice 
        service offers 911 or E-911 services in compliance with the 
        rules required by subsection (a), that provider, its officers, 
        directors, employees, vendors, and agents, shall have immunity 
        or other protection from liability of a scope and extent that 
        is not less than the scope and extent of immunity or other 
        protection from liability that any local exchange company, and 
        its officers directors, employees, vendors, or agents, have 
        under the applicable Federal and State law (whether through 
        statute, judicial decision, tariffs filed by such local 
        exchange company, or otherwise), including in connection with 
        an act or omission involving the release of subscriber 
        information related to the emergency calls or emergency 
        services to a public safety answering point, emergency medical 
        service provider, or emergency dispatch provider, public 
        safety, fire service, or law enforcement official, or hospital 
        emergency or trauma care facility.
            (2) User parity.--A person using an IP-enabled voice 
        service that offers 911 or E-911 services pursuant to this 
        subsection shall have immunity or other protection from 
        liability of a scope and extent that is not less than the scope 
        and extent of immunity or other protection from liability under 
        applicable law in similar circumstances of a person using 911 
        or E-911 service that is not provided through an IP-enabled 
        voice service.
            (3) PSAP parity.--In matters related to IP-enabled 911 and 
        E-911 communications, a PSAP, and its employees, vendors, 
        agents, and authorizing government entity (if any) shall have 
        immunity or other protection from liability of a scope and 
        extent that is not less than the scope and extent of immunity 
        or other protection from liability under applicable law 
        accorded to such PSAP, employees, vendors, agents, and 
        authorizing government entity, respective, in matters related 
        to 911 or E-911 communications that are not provided via an IP-
        enabled voice service.
    (h) Delegation Permitted.--The Commission may, in the regulations 
prescribed under this section, provide for the delegation to State 
commissions of authority to implement and enforce the requirements of 
this section and the regulations thereunder.

SEC. 3. MIGRATION TO IP-ENABLED EMERGENCY NETWORK.

    Section 158 of the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration Organization Act (as added by section 104 of the ENHANCE 
911 Act of 2004) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
        (e) and (f), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Migration Plan Required.--
            ``(1) National plan required.--No more than 18 months after 
        the date of the enactment of the ENHANCE 911 Act of 2004, the 
        Office shall develop and report to Congress on a national plan 
        for migrating to a national IP-enabled emergency network 
        capable of receiving and responding to all citizen activated 
        emergency communications.
            ``(2) Contents of plan.--The plan required by paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) outline the potential benefits of such a 
                migration;
                    ``(B) identify barriers that must be overcome and 
                funding mechanisms to address those barriers;
                    ``(C) include a proposed timetable, an outline of 
                costs and potential savings;
                    ``(D) provide specific legislative language, if 
                necessary, for achieving the plan; and
                    ``(E) provide recommendations on any legislative 
                changes, including updating definitions, to facilitate 
                a national IP-enabled emergency network.
            ``(3) Consultation.--In developing the plan required by 
        paragraph (1), the Office shall consult with representatives of 
        the public safety community, technology and telecommunications 
        providers, and others it deems appropriate.''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--For purposes of this Act:
            (1) 911 and e-911 services.--
                    (A) 911.--The term ``911'' means a service that 
                allows a user, by dialing the three-digit code 911, to 
                call a public safety answering point operated by a 
                State, local government, Indian tribe, or authorized 
                entity.
                    (B) E-911.--The term ``E-911 service'' means a 911 
                service that automatically delivers the 911 call to the 
                appropriate public safety answering point, and provides 
                automatic identification data, including the 
                originating number of an emergency call, the physical 
                location of the caller, and the capability for the 
                public safety answering point to call the user back if 
                the call is disconnected.
            (2) IP-enabled voice service.--The term ``IP-enabled voice 
        service'' means an IP-enabled service used for real-time 2-way 
        or multidirectional voice communications offered to a customer 
        that--
                    (A) uses North American Numbering Plan administered 
                telephone numbers, or successor protocol; and
                    (B) has two-way interconnection or otherwise 
                exchange traffic with the public switched telephone 
                network.
            (3) Customer.--The term ``customer'' includes a consumer of 
        goods or services whether for a fee, in exchange for an 
        explicit benefit, or provided for free.
            (4) IP-enabled service.--The term ``IP-enabled service'' 
        means the use of software, hardware, or network equipment that 
        enable an end user to send or receive a communication over the 
        public Internet or a private network utilizing Internet 
        protocol, or any successor protocol, in whole or part, to 
        connect users--
                    (A) regardless of whether the communication is 
                voice, data, video, or other form; and
                    (B) notwithstanding --
                            (i) the underlying transmission technology 
                        used to transmit the communications;
                            (ii) whether the packetizing and 
                        depacketizing of the communications occurs at 
                        the customer premise or network level; or
                            (iii) the software, hardware, or network 
                        equipment used to connect users.
            (5) Public switched telephone network.--The term ``public 
        switched telephone network'' means any switched common carrier 
        service that is interconnected with the traditional local 
        exchange or interexchange switched network.
            (6) PSAP.--The term ``public safety answering point'' or 
        ``PSAP'' means a facility that has been designated to receive 
        911 calls.
    (b) Common Terminology.--Except as otherwise provided in subsection 
(a), terms used in this Act have the meanings provided under section 3 
of the Communications Act of 1934.
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