Press Release:
Contact: Courntey McCarron (202) 833-9600
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 23, 2004) - Vincent Stile, president of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International, today wrote Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, urging him to address a critical public safety issue related to Voice over Internet Protocol at tomorrow’s committee hearing on the subject.
In his letter, Stile wrote, “APCO is deeply concerned that, without appropriate regulatory requirements, the rapid deployment of VoIP will have a serious, negative impact on the provision of 9-1-1 emergency communications across our nation.”
The problem is that VoIP services are not required to provide full 9-1-1 access, including selective routing to the correct public safety answering point (PSAP), callback numbers and automatic location information for the caller. This means calls to 9-1-1 via VoIP can be routed to the wrong PSAP, delaying a proper emergency response dangerously.
“The public has an expectation that telephone services will provide 9-1-1 and enhanced 9-1-1 capability (which includes caller-location information), regardless wither the telephone operates via wireline, wireless or Internet networks. Yet, at present there is a very real likelihood that a 9-1-1 call from a VoIP telephone will be lost, delayed or misrouted,” Stile warned.
“Some VoIP providers have recently agreed to work toward permanent solutions on a voluntary basis and, in the interim, to begin routing 9-1-1 calls to 10-digit emergency numbers in the near future,” Stile wrote. “APCO does not consider that to be an adequate or acceptable solution, as it takes a 21st century technology (IP telephony) and shoves it into a 1960s method of reporting life-threatening emergencies. Routing VoIP 9-1-1 calls to 10-digit emergency numbers will also disrupt and strain the limited resources of PSAPs, which are already struggling to provide wireless E9-1-1 capability.”
Stile urged McCain to support enforceable regulations applicable to all VoIP providers, to ensure that solutions to the problem be put in place while VoIP is still developing, before the imbedded base of systems and equipment becomes larger. He supported giving states the flexibility to require that VoIP providers share in the cost of providing 9-1-1 services.
Stile concluded, “We urge Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and state regulators to move forward as quickly as possible to establish enforceable regulations to ensure full deployment of 9-1-1 for VoIP and similar telephone technologies.”
#### About APCO International
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials - International, Inc. - is the world’s oldest and largest not-for-profit professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of public safety communications. With more than 16,000 members around the world, APCO International exists to serve the people who manage, operate, maintain, and supply the communications systems used to safeguard the lives and property of citizens everywhere.