GPS and 911 Items Approved in Unanimous Votes by FCC

The FCC took two actions on 911, indicating “that we care a lot about national security and will continue to move on that front,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said after the meeting.

The GPS NOI is broad in its reach, asking questions about a wide range of possible alternatives to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), including terrestrial-based and space-based solutions (see 2503060061).

“Agriculture is just one facet of modern American life vulnerable to GPS disruptions,” Carr said. The electric grid, financial systems, ports, communications networks, military and driving directions “all rely on GPS to provide … PNT,” he said. “To punctuate the point that GPS is everywhere, I would note that the other main items on the commission’s agenda today are about next-generation 911 and location accuracy, services that depend on GPS.”

Carr noted a 2020 executive order by President Donald Trump calling for enhanced PNT resilience. "Other countries are moving quickly to stand up GPS alternatives,” he said: “China and Russia have backups for PNT services, and it will serve our own national security and economic interests to ensure that the U.S. has one too.” Carr also said the FCC is coordinating with NTIA on the NOI.

“GPS vulnerabilities are unfortunately becoming one of America’s most troubling security and public safety issues,” said Commissioner Nathan Simington. The FCC “can play a vital role in mitigating those risks” by evaluating inherent risks to GPS, “such as interference and jamming,” and “analyzing the unauthorized use of foreign PNT systems” within the U.S., he said. The FCC can also investigate how to “cultivate alternative technologies to complement GPS.”

“Just about everything we do” relies on PNT technologies like GPS, said Commissioner Anna Gomez. That includes tasks ranging from “tracking the shipment of an item you’ve bought from a retailer to accurately measuring the miles you ran on your fitness device to finding the most efficient driving route.”

In a news release Thursday, the FCC said it “intends to build a comprehensive record on what actions it can take to strengthen GPS and promote other PNT technologies. These actions could include FCC rule changes, public-private partnerships, testbeds, Innovation Zones and more.”

NextNav, which is seeking FCC permission to launch a terrestrial alternative to GPS using 900 MHz spectrum, said it’s “committed to being part of the solution.” The bipartisan vote on the NOI “demonstrates a clear recognition of the urgent national security and public safety need for a more resilient” PNT “infrastructure,” said an emailed statement. The FCC last year sought comment on a proposal from NextNav that the agency reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band “to enable a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for PNT (see 2404160043).

Lisa Dyer, executive director of the GPS Innovation Alliance, said the group appreciates the FCC’s “leadership” in starting a “conversation about complementary PNT, as well as its recognition that getting this right requires a 'whole-of-government' approach.” As the commission “examines the fiscal, schedule, and technological realities of deploying fully nationwide terrestrial solutions, they may well find that existing local terrestrial and complementary PNT satellite systems are the most feasible and achievable options today and in the near future,” she said in an email.

“We look forward to participating in the proceeding and highlighting the need for a modernized GPS constellation, as well as satellite systems with orbital, spectral and signal diversity that complement GPS,” Dyer added.

Location Accuracy

Commissioners also approved an FNPRM on improving wireless location accuracy for calls to 911. CTIA had sought numerous tweaks to the draft FNPRM (see 2503190025).

The FCC pivoted to require providers to supply dispatchable location information, when possible, in 2015 (see 1501290066). The draft FNPRM acknowledged that the number of calls delivered with dispatchable location data remains “very small.” This is the FCC’s sixth FNPRM on the topic.

“With this item, the commission builds on our prior work on location accuracy to ensure that first responders receive not just accurate information, but actionable information,” Carr said.

Improving wireless location accuracy “enables first responders to quickly and precisely locate individuals in emergencies, reducing response times and saving lives,” Gomez said.

As Commissioner Geoffrey Starks was beginning his comments on the item from a remote location, his connection died. “We need some agency in charge of communications infrastructure to step it up here,” Carr quipped.

“Working with the FCC and the public safety community, the wireless industry has taken steps to improve 911 services, including delivering the most accurate location-accurate information ever available for wireless 911 calls, that have been a resounding success,” emailed Scott Bergmann, CTIA senior vice president-regulatory affairs. “We look forward to continued collaboration.”

NG-911

The NG911 FNPRM proposes updates to the agency’s 911 reliability rules, extending those rules that cover legacy 911 networks to service providers that control or operate critical pathways and components in NG911 networks. It also floats the idea of interoperability requirements for the interstate transfer of 911 traffic so public safety answering points can transfer 911 calls among one another across state borders.

Gomez said she got language added to the NG911 item suggesting that the FCC establish a dedicated portal for consumers to lodge 911 outage complaints. She said such a portal could provide real-time information from people directly affected and enhance the FCC’s ability to assess risks. Empowering consumers also supports transparency, she added.

Carr said that since the 911 reliability rules were adopted in 2013, the agency has more experience with “sunny day” outages, when 911 goes down for reasons unrelated to weather or disasters. He said the NG911 FNPRM looks to address some of the potential gaps in the agency’s 911 reliability rules unearthed by those outages, and the proposed changes could thus lower that risk.

Gomez, who has caught flak from Simington about speaking at monthly meetings in Spanish as well as English (see 2503030057), did so again Thursday, recapping her NG911 comments in Spanish.

Notebook

Expect more and bigger FCC actions regarding copper retirement, Carr said. He called a series of orders this month aimed at making it easier for carriers to move away from legacy copper networks (see 2503200056) the "initial steps," with more to follow. The agency's plans around copper retirement will be "one of the more significant things" it does in coming years, he said, adding that greasing the path to retiring those networks frees up resources that carriers can transition to next-generation services.

Carr emphasized the FCC’s work on looking into whether Chinese companies on the agency's “covered list” are still active in the U.S. (see 2503210038). “It turns out that some or all of those entities … may still be doing business in the country,” he told reporters. “We’re going to get to the bottom of how they’re operating today, who they’re connecting with, and if there are any loopholes we need to close, we’re going to do it."

Thursday’s meeting -- Carr's second as chairman -- saw him again start off by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, which hadn't been standard practice under recent chairs.