Congress Expected to Take Up E-911 Next Year
Work on comprehensive emergency communications legislation will come next year when the FCC finishes its broadband plan and perhaps takes up revamping the Universal Service Fund, House aides said at an E-911 Institute meeting Thursday. The need for a nationwide strategy and funding for next-generation E-911 services could be taken up in a USF bill or some other broadband-related vehicle, aides said. Some of this year’s broadband stimulus awards could go to public-safety projects, as called for in the Recovery Act, but much more money will be needed to fulfill longstanding plans for a nationwide interoperable network, people at the conference said.
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“There will be a lot of discussion on these issues,” said an aide to Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., a longstanding public safety advocate. Eshoo and Rep. Doris Matsui, another California Democrat, told the NTIA recently that the stimulus grant program should set a higher target for broadband speeds, so more public safety proposals could apply (CD Sept 18 p11). Current rules set the bar at 768 kbps, much lower than transmission speeds used by emergency communications networks. E-911 issues come up in many legislative contexts, the Eshoo aide said. It would be nice to see a comprehensive bill that deals with efforts to coordinate and fund next- generation E-911 services as well as building a nationwide emergency communications network, the aide said.
Inter-agency coordination also is important, said officials of the NTIA and RUS departments of Transportation and Homeland Security. All have programs dealing with public safety communications. But “one-stop shopping” probably isn’t realistic on the federal level, said a DOT official. She said suggestions from the many public-safety interests don’t come in a “one-stop” format, either, further complicating efforts to make national policy. “This needs to be national in scope,” said E-911 Institute Executive Director Greg Rohde. But many localities will be reluctant to give up control, said Yucel Ors, legislative director of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials- International. “We are trying to work with all our members to get them on board” with plans for a nationwide broadband public safety network, he said.
Another concern that Congress may need to take up is policing the misuse of money going to the states for E-911 services, the Eshoo aide said. “I don’t know how to increase the size of the stick … or the size of the reward” to make sure states act properly. The money must go toward E-911, not for uniforms or new vehicles, said an aide to Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., who spearheaded last year’s E-911 bill. But with the tough economy, the temptation to borrow from the fund increases. Increased congressional oversight is a deterrent, Rohde said.
No matter how legislation develops, it’s clear that federal and state governments will need a good working relationship, aides said. The FCC could play an important role in facilitating emergency communications work, but it’s too soon to judge how well that will work, they said. A problem looming is the decline in fees for 911 services as consumers abandon voice. Gordon’s bill, passed last year, requires VoIP services to pay into the system, but some states do a better job than others of collecting and spending the fees, his aide said. “There needs to be interstate” cooperation on E-911 services in the move toward an integrated network, the aide said. But that has proven difficult because 911 services typically have been handled locally and there’s no structure for handling interstate issues. Merging 50 state practices for emergency communications networks persists as a challenge, the aide said.
Money remains in short supply for public safety, several public safety officials said. The broadband stimulus grants may provide some help: An NTIA official said there are about 200 public safety-related applications in the hopper. Many potential bidders, including those interested in public safety projects, approached Eshoo’s office for help applying for grants, her aide said. Some worried that they might not qualify, but Eshoo recommended that they apply, since their participation in the process could raise awareness of the projects. Applicants were urged to submit comments to the NTIA and the RUS on the projects, the aides said. “I know NTIA and RUS want to do the right thing with these programs,” the Eshoo aide said.