CTIA – The Wireless Association®Matthew Gerst

October 30, 2014

Text-to-911 DeploymentThe Wireless Industry Perspective

Overview

• Wireless 9-1-1: The Present, The Future, and Text-to-911 as an Interim Solution

• Text-to-911 Timeline: The Voluntary Industry Commitment to Text-to-911 Deployment

• The FCC’s 2nd Report and Order and 3rd Future Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Text-to-911– Technical Challenges with Proposed

Location Accuracy and Roaming Requirements

• Public Education: the Value of Collaborative Effort

CTIA is an international nonprofit membership organization representing all sectors of wireless communications, including: Service providers, Manufacturers, and Wireless data and internet companies

Learn more at CTIA.Org.

CTIA – The Wireless Association®

Consumers Use More Wireless Than Ever

Sources: FCC 16th Annual Mobile Competition Report, CTIA Semi-Annual Industry Survey, National Emergency Number Association (August 2014)

• There are over 335.6 million active wireless subscriptions in the U.S.– Over 1.7 million in Nebraska

• The average smartphone user checks their phone 150 times daily

• 40% of households nationwide have “cut the cord” (37.5% in Nebraska)

• In 2013, U.S. wireless carriers invested more than $34 billion in their networks, accounting for 24% of the world’s wireless capital investment.

Wireless and 9-1-1

The wireless industry remains committed to enhancing public safety by enabling access to 9-1-1.

• 9-1-1 service is available to 99% of the population.

• 70% of all calls to 9-1-1 are wireless.

• Almost 6,000 public safety answering points (“PSAPs”).

Sources: FCC, CTIA, National Emergency Number Association (2014)

Wireless 9-1-1 Today

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Basic 9-1-1: Voice, TTY or Relay“E9-1-1 Phase I”: Automatic Number Information (“ANI”)“E9-1-1 Phase II”: Automatic Location Information (“ALI”)

“All-Calls Rule”: Non-Service Initialized Issues

The Evolution of 9-1-1: Today and Tomorrow

THE PRESENT: Wireless 9-1-1– The current 9-1-1 system, despite E911 upgrades, relies on

40-year-old circuit switched technology. – The public is increasingly using Internet Protocol (“IP”) based

services: text, VoIP, video conferencing, social media, etc.

THE FUTURE: Next-Generation 9-1-1– All Forms: Voice, Text & Video (All Direct to PSAP)– Features: Anywhere, Any Device (NENA)– Are State Public Safety IP Deployments NG911?

– Technology Standards: (NENA, 3GPP, Others)– Individual PSAP Adoption vs. State/Regional Coordination– Funding & Regulatory Framework

Text to 9-1-1: The Here and Now

Text-to-911 is a valuable interim solution

until Next Generation 9-1-1 systems are deployed.

– Text-to-911 is an interim solution that allows direct access for subscribers who would otherwise be unable to make a voice call to 9-1-1.

– Text-to-911 also allows wireless subscribers to access 9-1-1 in situations where a voice call is not possible or safe.

Carrier-NENA-APCO Voluntary Commitment to Text to 9-1-1 (Dec. 2012)

– Participating Carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless– Establishes baseline features for supporting Text to 9-1-1 using

existing text messaging services• Three methods to deliver Text to 911 (TTY, Web Interface, or IP); Coarse

location for routing; no roaming support; PSAP requests for service; bounce back; public education

– June 2013: Carriers make “bounce back” available to subscribers when Text to 9-1-1 is unavailable.

– May 2014: Carriers fulfill commitment to support Text to 9-1-1 services for all subscribers, and deliver Text to 9-1-1 only to requesting PSAPs.

• FCC List of PSAPs supporting Text-to-911 (updated monthly):

http://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/911/Text_911_Deployments.pdf

Further Development of Text-to-911 Since the Voluntary Agreement

• Mar. 2013: FCC Emergency Access Advisory Committee (“EAAC”)

Report on Interim Text to 9-1-1

– Builds from prior EAAC reports to establish the use cases for Text to 911 as an

interim solution; notes that location and roaming may not be feasible

• Mar. 2013: ATIS/TIA release Joint Standard 110.

– Current technical standard for Text-to-911; does not support enhanced location

or roaming

• May 2013: FCC mandates “bounce back” by Sept. 2013 for all CMRS

and interconnected text providers.

• June 2014: CSRIC IV WG 1 Text to 911 Location Info Report

– Report: SMS to 911 provides for “extremely limited standards development”

with regard to location accuracy

• Aug. 2014: FCC Adopts 2nd Report and Order and 3rd Future Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking (FCC PS Dkt.`11-153)

KEY POINTS

– Support: All CMRS providers and “interconnected text providers” (any app or service that routes a text message to a phone number) must be capable of supporting Text-to-911 by December 31, 2014

– Implementation: Providers have until the later of June 30, 2015 or six months after a valid PSAP request to implement Text-to-911 for any requesting PSAP

• The FCC established a set of conditions for a PSAP to make a valid request for service (Paragraph 51)

– FNPRM: The FCC requested additional comment on potential roaming and location accuracy requirements

• CTIA filed responsive comments in October 2014

FCC Text-to-911 2nd Report and Order and 3rd FNPRM (August 2014)

• Not universally attainable at present.

– EAAC and CSRIC reports highlight the

technical challenges.

• Beyond the scope of the

Voluntary Agreement.

– Issues of roaming and location accuracy

were considered during the formation of

the Agreement.

• Would require significant

investment in legacy systems.

– Any resources devoted to adding

requirements onto SMS-to-911 would be

better devoted to Next-Generation 911.

CTIA’s View of FCC Text to 911 FNPRM’s Proposed Requirements

• The public safety community, in coordination with the FCC, should take the lead in a collaborative effort on Text-to-911 education for the public and for PSAPs

• Public safety leadership will promote consistency of messaging and efficiency of distribution

• Public education campaigns should be consistent with national efforts to avoid confusion and manage public expectations about the capabilities of Text-to-911

Collaboration in Public Education: A Leadership Role for Public Safety

One important area where collaboration between industry, states and PSAPs can greatly benefit

Text-to-911 deployment is public education.

• CTIA is a member of the National 911 Education Coalition, helping with the formulation of a cohesive public education message around Text-to-911.

• Points of Emphasis for Consumer T911 Education:– Call if You Can, Text if You Can’t: Voice, TTY and

relay calls continue to be the best way to reach 911.– You May Get a “Bounce-Back” Message: Inform

consumers that if Text-to-911 is not available in their area or via their carrier, they will get a message telling them to call 911 instead.

– Know Where You Are: Because Text-to-911 does not automatically include location info, include it in your text.

Industry Efforts in Public Text-to-911 Education

Next Steps Towards NG9-1-1

• Collaborate to educate the public and PSAPs on Text-to-911

– NENA SMS Text-to-911 Education and Information Resources

• Continue to support flexible, collaborative solutions for Text-to-911

• Limited 9-1-1 funds should be put to the most efficient use to support Text to 911

• Next Generation 9-1-1 is the shared goal of industry, public safety and policymakers