[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 10807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04230]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[PS Docket No. 10-255 and PS Docket No. 11-153; FCC 14-6]


Facilitating the Deployment of Text-to-911 and Other Next 
Generation 911 Applications; Framework for Next Generation 911 
Deployment

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Policy Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) adopts a 
Policy Statement expressing its belief that every CMRS carrier and 
every provider that enables a consumer to send text messages using 
numbers from the North American Numbering Plan should support text-to-
911 capabilities. The Commission intends to pursue a technologically-
neutral approach that provides platform-independent norms for all 
stakeholders, based on high-level functional standards set by the 
relevant stakeholders in industry and the public safety community.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy May, Public Safety and 
Homeland Security Bureau, (202) 418-1463 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: People with Disabilities: To request 
materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, 
large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to 
[email protected] or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 
202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty).

Policy Statement

    The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) believes that 
every CMRS carrier and every provider that enables a consumer to send 
text messages using numbers from the North American Numbering Plan 
should support text-to-911 capabilities.
    The Commission intends to pursue a technologically-neutral approach 
that provides platform-independent norms for all stakeholders, based on 
high-level functional standards set by the relevant stakeholders in 
industry and the public safety community. Stakeholders should develop 
implementation details on a consensual basis in a manner that enables 
fact-based monitoring of progress by the relevant industry bodies, 911 
and public safety authorities, and regulatory agencies. If the multi-
stakeholder process achieves these values in a timely manner, we 
envision that any overarching functional rule adopted by the Commission 
would not need to impose additional obligations beyond those agreed to 
in the multi-stakeholder context. Rather, we expect that it would be 
needed only to codify the multi-stakeholder standard so it applies to 
all providers equally (including future entrants into the market) in a 
manner that brings regulatory clarity so that all participants in the 
911 ecosystem can plan accordingly.
    The Commission is particularly pleased that certain carriers have 
taken a leadership role on this issue and worked with public safety 
organizations to establish a May 15, 2014, deadline by which those 
carriers would support text-to-911 service nationwide. We encourage 
CMRS and interconnected text providers that are not parties to the 
Carrier-NENA-APCO Agreement to work with the public safety community to 
develop similar commitments to support text-to-911 in a timely manner, 
so that all consumers will be assured access to text-to-911 regardless 
of what text provider they choose.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-04230 Filed 2-25-14; 8:45 am]
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