NENA Presentation to the California State Senate Information Hearing

Voice Over Internet Protocol – Is It Where Telephone Service Is Headed?

Senator Debra Bowen, Chairwoman
Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee
State Capitol, California Room 4203
January 27, 2004

By Bill McMurray, ENP
NENA First Vice President

The National Emergency Number Association is a membership-based non-profit organization made up of over 7,000 public safety and private sector members responsible for the nations 9-1-1 emergency telephone system.

NENA is known as "The Voice of 9-1-1" for technology and operational standards and as a leading advocate for public policy matters affecting 9-1-1 in the United States and Canada.

In December 2003, NENA and members of the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) industry forged an agreement on key elements for providing emergency 9-1-1 service to VoIP customers. A number of companies and organizations interested in delivering VoIP services have come together to endorse the principles in a six-part agreement that provide the framework for assuring 9-1-1 service is transparent to a VoIP customer.

The points of the agreement include the following provisions:

1. For VoIP customers utilizing phones that have the functionality and appearance of conventional telephones, 9-1-1 calls will be routed to the appropriate Public Safety Access Point via the public switched telephone system within three to six months from the date of the agreement, and that in the meantime, the VoIP service provider will inform its customers of the barrier to 9-1-1 service.
    
2. When a VoIP provider offers service in a particular area, it should inform the local 9-1-1 PSAP providers (or regional coordinator) about the chosen method to connect callers to the PSAP. This obligation does not apply to any "roaming" by customers within the VoIP system.
    
3. Support for current NENA and industry work towards an interim solution that includes (a) delivery of 9-1-1 call through the existing 9-1-1 network, (b) providing callback number to the PSAP, and (c) in some cases, initial location information.
    
4. Support for current NENA and industry work towards long-term solutions that include (a) delivery of 9-1-1 calls to the proper PSAP, (b) providing callback number/recontact information to the PSAP, (c) providing location of caller; and (d) PSAP’s having direct IP connectivity.
    
5. Support for an administrative approach to maintaining funding of 9-1-1 resources at a level equivalent to those generated by current or evolving funding processes.
    
6. Development of consumer education projects involving various industry participants and NENA public education committee members to create suggested materials so that consumers are fully aware of 9-1-1 capabilities and issues.

NENA and the Internet communications industry have demonstrated the ability for public safety and industry to work together effectively on a voluntary basis, forging an agreement on 9-1-1 that will protect the interests of consumers, businesses and emergency personnel. The agreement recognizes the growing potential of VoIP and the universal need for consistent and reliable access to emergency services.

Eleven VoIP companies have signed onto the agreement, along with NENA and as of last December, NASNA, the National Association of State Nine-one-one Administrators. There is an ongoing effort to sign on others to the agreement in order to quicken the pace of meeting the terms of the agreement.

The FCC has been informed of the agreement and there is a great deal of enthusiasm for the partnership between the service providers and the 9-1-1 "industry" in resolving the technical and operational issues facing the VoIP world. While the work in progress was initially geared towards USA and Canadian standards, the scope must be worldwide because of nature of Internet technologies.

Public Safety entities enter the issue with several levels of concern:

• Location, location, location. We view the ability to immediately display telephone number and the location of a caller within the first few seconds of receipt of a 9-1-1 call to be a baseline requirement. There are countless examples where the first few moments of a 9-1-1 call are precious and critical response decisions are based on accurate call back and location information.
   
• There is a recognition that the analog world of the nation’s 9-1-1 network will disappear over the course of time and that integration of new generation PSAP’s operating in an IP environment is not only necessary, it will substantially increase the capabilities of the PSAP and, inherent in the nature of VoIP, potentially save costs over legacy network designs.
   
• IP-communications networks also provide the opportunity to moving 9-1-1 calls around larger geographic areas, thus getting the caller to the right PSAP with the location information – that is not possible in today’s network. This is important because the very definition of 9-1-1 caller has grown from a wired phone in a home to a car that reports a collision in Sacramento to a call center in Texas.

The question is not if the VoIP incorporates 9-1-1 into their service offering, but how? Is it accomplished by regulation and rule of law or through industry cooperation? The organizations and companies that have entered into the six-point agreement think it may well be possible that a faster and better solution can be found through a cooperative effort.

Point Five of the agreement places important emphasis on the importance of a consistent funding mechanism. Without early resolution to the problem, the impact on the traditional telephone system consumers will become out of balance.

The agreement allows us to do this cooperative work between public safety and industry. This work is critically important to the elected representatives at the state and federal level because of the potential affect on the citizens. Well done, the 9-1-1 call handling will be transparent between VoIP and traditional telecommunications systems. Anything less will not be acceptable to the consumer or the policy leaders.

NENA welcomes the participation of state leaders and regulatory agencies in this process, either indirectly through monitoring of the timelines and the work accomplishments, or through direct involvement by joining one of the many VoIP Technical and Operational Committee Working Groups that are tackling the many issues affecting 9-1-1 service delivery.

The welcome mat is extended to consumer advocates and other organizations to provide assurance that their concerns are being addressed.

We look forward to increasing the list of cooperating companies and organizations in the next few days and weeks because there will be increased publicity of the agreement in the VOIP industry.

The NENA VoIP Technical Committee currently has over 80 members, the largest in the NENA "family" of technical or operations committees. Also, the NENA VoIP Operational Committee, which is examining the issues that directly impact a PSAP has more than 45 members; its work complements that being done in technical development. There are numerous working groups addressing baseline E9-1-1 requirements, migratory and long-term definitions, and more. It is well understood that IP technology represents the primary pathway to the future of telecommunications, not just telephone service in the traditional manner we are used to operating.

VoIP communications may well be the pathway to the first line of our nations homeland security. Time and again since September 11, 2001, it has been recognized that the citizens are the watchdogs who will likely sound the first alert of terrorist activity. 9-1-1 is their direct connection to the law enforcement, fire protection and emergency medical services that are ready to respond to any emergency.

NENA commends the Senators for examining these VoIP issues because decisions made today will make a difference in how we handle the problems of tomorrow. It would seem that VoIP catapults us into a generation of technology advances that will yield unbelievable services, which may be unpredictable at best and potentially dangerous to the consumer if the issues of 9-1-1 access and funding support are overlooked. These are clearly public policy issues that require deep consideration.