A.Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements for Small Entities

A.Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Requirements for Small Entities

CCXLIII.The rules we adopt today require that:

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  All CMRS providers must provide (1) dispatchable location, or (2) x/y (horizontal) location within 50 meters, for the following percentages of wireless 911 calls within the following timeframes, measured from the Effective Date of rules adopted in this Fourth Report and Order:
  

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  Within 2 years: 40 percent of all wireless 911 calls.
  
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  Within 3 years: 50 percent of all wireless 911 calls.
  
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  Within 5 years: 70 percent of all wireless 911 calls.
  
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  Within 6 years: 80 percent of all wireless 911 calls.
  

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  Non-nationwide CMRS providers (regional, small, and rural providers) can extend the five and six-year deadlines based on the timing of VoLTE deployment in the networks.
  

CCXLIV.All CMRS providers must meet the following requirements for provision of vertical location information with wireless 911 calls:

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  Within 3 years, all CMRS providers must make uncompensated barometric data available to PSAPs from any handset that has the capability to deliver barometric sensor data.
  
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  Within 3 years, nationwide CMRS providers must use an independently administered and transparent test bed process to develop a proposed z-axis accuracy metric, and must submit the proposed metric to the Commission for approval.
  
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  Within 6 years, nationwide CMRS provides must deploy either (1) dispatchable location, or (2) z-axis technology that achieves the Commission-approved z-axis metric, in each of the top 25 CMAs:
  
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    The National Emergency Address Database (NEAD) must be populated with a total number of dispatchable location reference points in the CMA equal to 25 percent of the CMA population if dispatchable location is used.
    
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    CMRS providers must deploy z-axis technology to cover 80 percent of the CMA population if z-axis technology is used.
    
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  Within 8 years, nationwide CMRS providers must deploy dispatchable location or z-axis technology in accordance with the above benchmarks in each of the top 50 CMAs.
  
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  Non-nationwide carriers that serve any of the top 25 or 50 CMAs will have an additional year to meet the latter two benchmarks (i.e., relating to years 6 and 8).
  

CCXLV.Quarterly reporting of live 911 data will begin no later than 18 months from the date the rules become effective; CMRS providers will also provide quarterly live call data on a more granular basis that allows evaluation of the performance of individual location technologies within different morphologies (e.g., dense urban, urban, suburban, rural). Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) will be entitled to obtain live call data from CMRS providers and seek Commission enforcement of these requirements within their jurisdictions, but they may seek enforcement only so long as they have implemented policies that are designed to obtain all 911 location information made available by CMRS providers pursuant to our rules.

CCXLVI.We adopt a 30-second limit on the time period allowed for a CMRS provider to generate a location fix in order for the 911 call to be counted towards compliance with existing Phase II location accuracy requirements that rely on outdoor testing, but we do not extend this provision to the new indoor-focused requirements adopted in this order. We require that confidence and uncertainty data for all wireless 911 calls – whether placed from indoors or outdoors – be delivered at the request of a PSAP, on a per-call basis, with a uniform confidence level of 90 percent.

CCXLVII.We require CMRS providers to provide 911 call data, including (1) the percentage of wireless 911 calls to the PSAP that include Phase II location information, and (2) per-call identification of the positioning source method or methods used to derive location coordinates and/or dispatchable location, to any requesting PSAP. Compliance with the 30-second time limit will also be measured from this data.

A.Steps Taken to Minimize the Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities, and Significant Alternatives Considered

CCXLVIII.The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant alternatives that it has considered in developing its approach, which may include the following four alternatives (among others): “(1) the establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or timetables that take into account the resources available to small entities; (2) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of compliance and reporting requirements under the rule for such small entities; (3) the use of performance rather than design standards; and (4) an exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for such small entities.”

CCXLIX.We received comments from entities representing small and/or rural interests, suggesting that the rules would apply a unique burden on small and/or rural entities,⁰ and raising the possibility of exemptions or waivers for small or rural entities.⁰ In the Fourth Report and Order, we explicitly acknowledge that the costs imposed by the rules adopted herein “may present a proportionately greater burden to smaller CMRS providers, including the costs associated with participation in the test bed.”⁰ Nevertheless, we conclude that overriding public safety concerns require our rules to apply equally to all CMRS providers, regardless of location or size – 911 location accuracy is paramount in all portions of the Nation, and all CMRS providers must be on an equal footing in their ability to provide correct 911 location accuracy.

CCL.To accommodate the unique circumstances facing small and rural carriers, the rules we adopt today include the following steps that we believe will minimize the impact on such carriers:

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  While all CMRS providers (including small providers) must provide dispatchable location or x/y (horizontal) location within 50 meters for certain percentages of wireless 911 calls at Years 2, 3, 5, and 6 after the rules in this Fourth Report and Order become effective, non-nationwide CMRS providers (i.e., regional, small, and rural carriers) can extend the five and six-year deadlines based on the timing of Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) deployment in their networks.
  
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  Regarding vertical location accuracy, while all CMRS providers (including small providers) must make uncompensated barometric data available to PSAPs from any handset that has the capability to deliver barometric sensor data within 3 years of the rules in this Fourth Report and Order becoming effective, small carriers have an additional year beyond what nationwide carriers must comply with (i.e., Year 6 requirements extend to Year 7; Year 8 requirements extend to Year 9).
  
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  While nationwide CMRS providers must report to the Commission on their plans and progress towards implementing improved indoor location accuracy no later than 18 months of the date the rules in this Fourth Report and Order become effective, smaller CMRS providers have 24 months.
  
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  While nationwide CMRS providers must aggregate live 911 call data on a quarterly basis and report that data to the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO), National Emergency Number Association (NENA), and the National Association of State 911 Administrators (NASNA), small providers must do so on a biannual basis.
  

CCLI.Regarding the overall scope of the indoor 911 location accuracy rules we adopt in this Fourth Report and Order, we note that in the Third Further Notice, we proposed to apply the horizontal indoor location accuracy requirements on a nationwide-basis, across all geographic areas.⁰ In response, several small and regional CMRS providers proposed that rural areas from indoor location accuracy requirements be excluded from the rules, either entirely or for a certain “phase-in” period.⁰ Absent any such exclusion, RWA believes the ability of small and rural CMRS providers to achieve compliance with the indoor horizontal location accuracy requirements in the proposed timeframe would be problematic.⁰ In response, we state that because the rules we adopt today relate to indoor 911 calls – and therefore are not hindered by naturally-formed physical characteristics – there is no need to adopt similar exclusions. We believe that the design of our indoor location accuracy requirements and the timeframe allotted for compliance adequately addresses commenters’ concerns about being able to implement indoor location solutions throughout all morphologies within their coverage footprint. Moreover, applying these requirements uniformly nationwide is consistent with the principle that improving 911 location is just as important in the least populous markets as in the most populous.⁰

CCLII.We sought comment in the Third Further Notice on whether we should adopt a specific waiver process for CMRS providers who seek relief from our indoor location accuracy requirements.⁰ In particular, we sought comment on whether and what criteria would be appropriate for any E911-specific waiver process, as well as whether providers who believe they cannot comply with a particular indoor location accuracy benchmark, despite good faith efforts, may certify this six months prior to the applicable benchmark.⁰ In response, RWA suggests the Commission adopt a safe harbor for waiver applicants based on a showing of technical infeasibility or financial difficulty,⁰ while NTCA notes that the expense of a waiver can impose a substantial financial burden for small rural carriers, and the regulatory uncertainty can be disruptive to business planning and operations.⁰ We ultimately determined not to adopt a specific waiver standard applicable only to the indoor location accuracy requirements we adopt today, noting that ‘[a]ny CMRS provider that is unable to meet the deadlines adopted herein may seek waiver relief. The Commission may grant relief pursuant to the waiver standards set forth in Sections 1.3 and 1.925 of its rules, and we believe these provisions are sufficient to address any requests for relief of the indoor location accuracy requirements…”⁰

Directory: edocs public -> attachmatch
attachmatch -> Commissioner ajit pai
attachmatch -> Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D
attachmatch -> Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D
attachmatch -> Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D
attachmatch -> Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D
attachmatch -> Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D
attachmatch -> Federal Communications Commission fcc 15-77 Before the Federal Communications Commission
attachmatch -> Statement of commissioner ajit pai

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