Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 30, 2021 / Proposed Rules 34679 

EPA-APPROVED MISSOURI REGULATIONS

Missouri 

citation Title State effective date EPA approval date Explanation 

Missouri Department of Natural Resources 

*******

Chapter 6—Air Quality Standards, Definitions, Sampling and Reference Methods, and Air Pollution Control Regulations for the State of 

Missouri 

*******

10–6.110 ....... Reporting Emission Data, 

Emission Fees, and Process Information.

3/30/2021 [Date of publication of the final rule in the 

Federal Register], [Federal Register citation of the final rule].

Section (3)(A), Emission 

Fees, has not been approved as part of the SIP. 

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * 

PART 70—STATE OPERATING PERMIT 

PROGRAMS 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 70 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401, et seq. 

■ 4. In appendix A to part 70 the entry 

for ‘‘Missouri’’ is amended by adding 

paragraph (jj) to read as follows: 

Appendix A to Part 70—Approval 

Status of State and Local Operating 

Permits Programs 

* * * * * 

Missouri 

* * * * * 

(jj) The Missouri Department of Natural 

Resources submitted revisions to Missouri 

rule 10 CSR 10–6.110, ‘‘Reporting Emission 

Data, Emission Fees, and Process 

Information’’ on May 25, 2021. The state 

effective date is March 30, 2021. This 

revision is effective [date 60 days after date 

of publication of the final rule in the Federal 

Register]. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2021–13992 Filed 6–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Parts 4 and 9 

[PS Docket No. 15–80, PS Docket No. 13– 

75, ET Docket No. 04–35; FCC 21–45; FR 

ID 28761] 

Disruptions to Communications; 

Improving 911 Reliability 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: Through this Third Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the 

Federal Communications Commission 

(FCC or Commission) proposes several 

rules to promote public safety by 

ensuring that 911 call centers and the 

public receive timely and useful 

notifications of network disruptions that 

affect 911 service. The NPRM seeks 

comment on whether to harmonize the 

Commission’s public safety answering 

point (PSAP) outage notification 

requirements so that both originating 

and covered 911 service providers 

notify PSAPs about outages that 

potentially affect 911 within the same 

timeframe, by the same means, and with 

the same frequency. The NPRM 

proposes standardizing the information 

that is conveyed via outage notifications 

to PSAPs by service providers. This 

NPRM also proposes to require that 

service providers develop and 

implement procedures to gather, 

maintain, and update PSAP contact 

information annually. In addition, the 

NPRM proposes to require service 

providers to notify their customers 

when there is a reportable outage that 

affects 911 availability within 60 

minutes of determining there is an 

outage. This NPRM also proposes to 

codify specific exemptions to certain 

reporting requirements adopted by the 

Commission in 2016. 

DATES: Written comments to the 

Commission must be submitted on or 

before July 30, 2021 and reply 

comments to the Commission must be 

submitted on or before August 30, 2021. 

Written comments on the Paperwork 

Reduction Act proposed information 

collection requirements must be 

submitted by the public-and other 

interested parties on or before August 

30, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket numbers PS Docket 

No. 15–80, PS Docket No. 13–75, and ET 

Docket No. 04–35, by any of the 

following methods: 

D Federal Communications 

Commission’s website: http://

apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

D By commercial overnight courier or 

first-class or overnight U.S. Postal 

Service mail. See the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for more 

instructions. 

D People with Disabilities: Contact the 

FCC to request reasonable 

accommodations (accessible format 

documents, sign language interpreters, 

CART, etc.) by email: FCC504@fcc.gov 

or phone: 202–418–0530 or TTY: 202– 

418–0432. 

For detailed instructions for 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Beau Finley, Public Safety and 

Homeland Security Bureau, at 202–418– 

7835 or at Robert.Finley@fcc.gov. For 

additional information concerning the 

Paperwork Reduction Act information 

collection requirements contained in 

this document, send an email to PRA@

fcc.gov or contact Nicole Ongele at 202– 

418–2991 or at Nicole.Ongele@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to §§ 1.415 and 1.419 of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 

1.419, interested parties may file 

comments and reply comments on or 

before the dates indicated on the first 

page of this document. Comments may 

be filed using the Commission’s 

Electronic Comment Filing System 

(ECFS). See Electronic Filing of 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
34680 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 30, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 

63 FR 24121 (1998). 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the internet by 

accessing the ECFS: http://apps.fcc.gov/ 

ecfs/. 

• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to 

file by paper must file an original and 

one copy of each filing. 

• Filings can be sent by commercial 

overnight courier, or by first-class or 

overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All 

filings must be addressed to the 

Commission’s Secretary, Office of the 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

• Commercial overnight mail (other 

than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail 

and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 

Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 

20701.U.S. Postal Service first-class, 

Express, and Priority mail must be 

addressed to 45 L Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20554. 

• Effective March 19, 2020, and until 

further notice, the Commission no 

longer accepts any hand or messenger 

delivered filings. This is a temporary 

measure taken to help protect the health 

and safety of individuals, and to 

mitigate the transmission of COVID–19. 

See FCC Announces Closure of FCC 

Headquarters Open Window and 

Change in Hand-Delivery Policy, Public 

Notice, DA 20–304 (March 19, 2020). 

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcccloses-headquarters-open-window-andchanges-hand-delivery-policy 

The proceeding this NPRM initiates 

shall be treated as a ‘‘permit-butdisclose’’ proceeding in accordance 

with the Commission’s ex parte rules. 

47 CFR 1.1200 through 1.1216. Persons 

making ex parte presentations must file 

a copy of any written presentation or a 

memorandum summarizing any oral 

presentation within two business days 

after the presentation (unless a different 

deadline applicable to the Sunshine 

period applies). Persons making oral ex 

parte presentations are reminded that 

memoranda summarizing the 

presentation must (1) list all persons 

attending or otherwise participating in 

the meeting at which the ex parte 

presentation was made, and (2) 

summarize all data presented and 

arguments made during the 

presentation. If the presentation 

consisted in whole or in part of the 

presentation of data or arguments 

already reflected in the presenter’s 

written comments, memoranda or other 

filings in the proceeding, the presenter 

may provide citations to such data or 

arguments in his or her prior comments, 

memoranda, or other filings (specifying 

the relevant page and/or paragraph 

numbers where such data or arguments 

can be found) in lieu of summarizing 

them in the memorandum. Documents 

shown or given to Commission staff 

during ex parte meetings are deemed to 

be written ex parte presentations and 

must be filed consistent with rule 

§ 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by 

rule § 1.49(f) or for which the 

Commission has made available a 

method of electronic filing, written ex 

parte presentations and memoranda 

summarizing oral ex parte 

presentations, and all attachments 

thereto, must be filed through the 

electronic comment filing system 

available for that proceeding, and must 

be filed in their native format (e.g., .doc, 

.xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants 

in this proceeding should familiarize 

themselves with the Commission’s ex 

parte rules. 

Synopsis 

I. Introduction 

1. In this NPRM, the Commission 

proposes to enhance its regulatory 

framework governing notifications of 

disruptions to 911 service by 

harmonizing the Commission’s 

notification requirements, improving 

the usefulness of outage notification 

content, requiring service providers to 

keep the public informed during periods 

of 911 unavailability, and ensuring the 

accuracy of PSAP contact information. 

The Commission also seeks comment on 

whether modifications to the associated 

reporting requirements would enhance 

public safety while reducing burdens on 

regulated entities. Section 1 of the 

Communications Act, as amended (Act), 

charges the Commission with 

‘‘promoting safety of life and property 

through the use of wire and radio 

communications.’’ 47 U.S.C. 151. This 

statutory objective and statutory 

authorities, also cited below, support 

the Commission’s network outage 

reporting and 911 reliability rules, 

including the proposals here. 47 U.S.C. 

151, 154(i), 154(j) 154(o), 201(b), 214(d), 

218, 251(e)(3), 301, 303(b), 303(g), 

303(r), 307, 309(a), 316, 332, 403, 615a– 

1, and 615c. In adopting this NPRM, the 

Commission continues its commitment 

to ensuring that the Commission’s rules, 

including those governing covered 911 

service providers, are sufficient, 

necessary, and technologically 

appropriate. 79 FR 3123 (911 Reliability 

Report and Order). 

II. Background 

2. The Commission oversees the 

integrity of 911 communications 

infrastructure primarily through three 

complementary mechanisms: 911 call 

transmission requirements; network 

outage reporting by service providers to 

both the Commission and potentially 

affected 911 special facilities, which 

also include PSAPs when there is a loss 

of communications to PSAP(s), subject 

to specific conditions; and 911 

reliability and certification 

requirements. 47 CFR 4.5(a), (c), and (e) 

through (h), 9.4, 9.10(b), 9.11(a)(2), 

9.18(a), 9.19. 

3. Outage Reporting Rules. The 

Commission requires originating service 

providers—i.e., cable, satellite, wireless, 

wireline, and interconnected VoIP 

providers that provide the capability for 

consumers to originate 911 calls—as 

well as covered 911 service providers— 

i.e., providers that aggregate 911 traffic 

from originating service providers and 

deliver it to PSAPs—to notify both the 

Commission and PSAPs when they 

experience an outage that potentially 

affects 911. 47 CFR 4.3(a), (d), and (f) 

through (h), 4.9(a), (c), and (e) through 

(h), 9.19(a)(4). 

4. The Commission has adopted four 

threshold criteria for reporting outages 

that potentially affect 911, any of which 

would trigger a notification 

requirement: 

(1) There is a loss of communications 

to PSAP(s) potentially affecting at least 

900,000 user-minutes and: The failure is 

neither at the PSAP(s) nor on the 

premises of the PSAP(s); no reroute for 

all end users was available; and the 

outage lasts 30 minutes or more; or 

(2) There is a loss of 911 call 

processing capabilities in one or more 

E–911 tandems/selective routers for at 

least 30 minutes duration; or 

(3) One or more end-office or [Mobile 

Switching Center (MSC)] . . . switches 

or host/remote clusters is isolated from 

911 service for at least 30 minutes and 

potentially affects at least 900,000 userminutes; or 

(4) There is a loss of [Automatic 

Number Identification (ANI)/Automatic 

Location Information (ALI)] . . . and/or 

a failure of location determination 

equipment, including Phase II 

equipment, for at least 30 minutes and 

potentially affecting at least 900,000 

user-minutes (provided that the ANI/ 

ALI or location determination 

equipment was then currently deployed 

and in use, and the failure is neither at 

the PSAP(s) or on the premises of the 

PSAP(s)). 47 CFR 4.5(e), 9.3. 

5. The Commission currently has two 

different sets of requirements for the 

timing, content, means, and frequency 

of PSAP notification, depending on the 

nature of the provider. The first set of 

rules was originally adopted for 

common carriers in 1994, and was 

subsequently expanded to govern a 

broader set of communications 


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providers called originating service 

providers. The second set of rules, 

adopted in 2013, governs covered 911 

service providers, the entities that, as 

the Commission reasoned at the time, 

are the ‘‘most likely to experience 

reportable outages affecting 911 

service.’’ 47 CFR 4.9(h); 911 Reliability 

Report and Order. Covered 911 service 

providers must notify PSAPs of outages 

that potentially affect them ‘‘as soon as 

possible, but no later than 30 minutes 

after discovering the outage,’’ whereas 

originating service providers are only 

required to notify PSAPs ‘‘as soon as 

possible.’’ 47 CFR 4.9(a)(4), (c)(2)(iv), 

(e)(1)(v), (f)(4), (g)(1)(i), (h). Covered 911 

service providers must convey to PSAPs 

‘‘all available information that may be 

useful in mitigating the effects of the 

outage, as well as the name, telephone 

number, and email address at which the 

service provider can be reached,’’ 

whereas originating service providers 

are only required to provide ‘‘all 

available information that may be useful 

to the management of the affected 

facility in mitigating the effects of the 

outage on callers to that facility.’’ 47 

CFR 4.9(a)(4), (c)(2)(iv), (e)(1)(v), (f)(4), 

(g)(1)(i), (h). Covered 911 service 

providers must notify PSAPs ‘‘by 

telephone and in writing via electronic 

means in the absence of another method 

mutually agreed upon in advance by the 

911 special facility and the covered 911 

service provider,’’ whereas originating 

service providers are only required to 

notify PSAPs ‘‘by telephone or another 

electronic means.’’ 47 CFR 4.9(a)(4), 

(c)(2)(iv), (e)(1)(v), (f)(4), (g)(1)(i), (h). 

Finally, covered 911 service providers 

must follow up with the PSAPs within 

two hours of making the initial outage 

notification, providing ‘‘additional 

material information’’ that includes ‘‘the 

nature of the outage, its best-known 

cause, the geographic scope of the 

outage, the estimated time for repairs, 

and any other information that may be 

useful to the management of the affected 

facility,’’ whereas originating service 

providers are not required to follow up 

with PSAPs at all. 47 CFR 4.9(h). In 

adopting these broader requirements for 

covered 911 service providers in 2013, 

the Commission did ‘‘not seek to replace 

the existing [PSAP outage notification] 

scheme with a new, more onerous one, 

but rather, to clarify the timing and 

notification content with which certain 

service providers subject to section 4.9 

must already comply.’’ 911 Reliability 

Report and Order at para. 146. 

6. 911 Reliability and Certification 

Rules. In the wake of the devastating 

derecho that affected the Midwest and 

Mid-Atlantic states in 2012, the 

Commission adopted a series of 911 

certification rules to improve 911 

network reliability. 911 Reliability 

Report and Order at paras. 48 through 

65. These rules require covered 911 

service providers to take reasonable 

measures to provide reliable 911 service 

with respect to 911 circuit diversity, 

central office backup power, and diverse 

network monitoring. 47 CFR 9.19(c). To 

ensure that covered 911 service 

providers have taken these measures, 

covered 911 service providers must 

certify as to their compliance with each 

of these three requirements or to their 

implementation of reasonable 

alternative measures. 47 CFR 9.19. 

7. When the Commission adopted 

rules for covered 911 service providers 

in 2013, it committed to reexamining 

the rules after five years to consider 

whether the rules were still 

‘‘technologically appropriate and both 

adequate and necessary.’’ 911 Reliability 

Report and Order at para. 159. The 

Commission stated that review of the 

rules would consider, among other 

things, whether the rules should be 

revised to cover new best practices, 

including outage reporting trends, 

whether to adopt Next Generation 9–1– 

1 (NG911) capabilities on a nationwide 

basis, and whether the certification 

approach has yielded the necessary 

level of compliance, noting that a 

‘‘persistence of preventable 911 outages 

could indicate a need for broader or 

more rigorous rules.’’ 911 Reliability 

Report and Order at para. 159. Thus, in 

2018, the Public Safety and Homeland 

Security Bureau (Bureau) issued a 

public notice seeking comment on the 

rules’ effectiveness, as well as on 

reducing affected parties’ regulatory 

burdens. Public Safety and Homeland 

Security Bureau Seeks Comment on 911 

Network Reliability Rules, PS Docket 

No. 13–75, Public Notice, 33 FCC Rcd 

5987, 5988–90 (Public Safety and 

Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) 

2018) (2018 911 Reliability Public 

Notice). The Bureau received ten 

comments and six reply comments from 

entities representing industry, local 

government, and the public safety 

community, and it also hosted meetings 

with stakeholders to obtain additional 

information. 

III. Discussion 

8. In times of emergency, dialing 9– 

1–1 serves as a crucial life link for those 

in need of immediate help. In 2019 

alone, those in crisis placed over 200 

million emergency calls to 911. 911 

Reliability Report and Order at para. 

159. More than 70% of these emergency 

calls originate from wireless phones. 

911 Reliability Report and Order at para. 

11. Call takers in the nation’s 

approximately 5,700 PSAPs answer 

these calls and connect callers to 

emergency services that regularly save 

lives and safeguard property. 911 

systems, however, are susceptible to 

outages that can occur in the underlying 

communications network. Ensuring that 

911 services are restored quickly 

following network outages is a top 

public safety priority for the 

Commission. Commission rules, among 

other things, specify 911-related outage 

notification and 911 reliability 

certification requirements for providers. 

47 CFR part 4, appendix A. In this 

document, the Commission proposes 

specific rules to ensure that its 911 

notification framework remains robust, 

reliable, and responsive. These 

proposals, discussed below, will 

enhance public safety by ensuring that 

PSAPs and the public are provided with 

timely notification of disruptions to 911. 

A. Improving PSAP Outage Notification 

1. Harmonizing PSAP Outage 

Notification Requirements 

9. When the Commission adopted the 

more specific notification requirements 

for covered 911 service providers in 

2013, it stated that it would ‘‘defer for 

future consideration’’ whether 

originating service providers should be 

subject to those requirements, reasoning 

that covered 911 service providers are 

the entities most likely to experience 

reportable outages affecting 911 service. 

911 Reliability Report and Order at para. 

147. While the Commission’s outage 

reporting rules already require both 

originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers to notify 

PSAPs of outages that potentially affect 

911, the Commission’s experiences 

since adoption of the PSAP notification 

rules for covered 911 service providers 

in 2013 demonstrate that having 

different reporting obligations for 

originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers is neither 

practicable nor in the public interest. 

For example, in at least two instances 

following a nationwide 911 outage, the 

Commission (through its Enforcement 

Bureau) found that the affected 

originating service providers had not 

taken adequate steps to notify PSAPs in 

a manner that would have allowed the 

affected PSAPs to ensure the public’s 

access to critical emergency services. TMobile USA, Inc., File No. EB–SED–15– 

00018025, Order, 30 FCC Rcd 7247, 

para. 2 (EB 2015) (T-Mobile Order); 

AT&T Mobility, LLC, File No. EB–SED– 

17–00024532, Order, 33 FCC Rcd 6144, 

6145, para. 2 (EB 2018) (AT&T Mobility 

Order). 


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10. In August 2014, T-Mobile 

experienced two network outages that, 

taken together, resulted in 50,000,000 

subscribers nationwide being unable to 

reach 911 call takers for a three-hour 

period. T-Mobile Order. During that 

time, PSAPs were not informed of the 

outage and consequently could not 

promptly notify the public of alternative 

means to reach emergency services. TMobile Order. And, in March 2017, 

AT&T Mobility experienced a network 

outage that resulted in 135,000,000 

subscribers nationwide being unable to 

reach 911 call takers for a five-hour 

period. PSHSB, March 8, 2017 AT&T 

VoLTE 911 Outage Report and 

Recommendations, PS Docket No, 17– 

68, at 3, n.1 (2017), https://apps.fcc.gov/ 

edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC344941A1.pdf (AT&T VoLTE 911 

Outage Report). PSAPs did not receive 

information about the AT&T Mobility 

outage until ‘‘approximately three and a 

half hours after the outage began and 

approximately two and a half hours 

after AT&T Mobility sent internal mass 

notifications to company executives and 

senior staff about the event.’’ AT&T 

Mobility Order; AT&T VoLTE 911 

Outage Report; Letter from Karima 

Holmes, Director, District of Columbia 

Office of Unified Communications, to 

PSHSB, PS Docket No. 17–68, at 1–2 

(Mar. 31, 2017). 

11. The Commission now proposes to 

require that originating service 

providers and covered 911 service 

providers notify PSAPs about all such 

outages within the same timeframe, by 

the same means, and with the same 

frequency. The Commission specifically 

proposes to require originating service 

providers to notify potentially affected 

911 special facilities of an outage within 

the same time frame required for 

covered 911 service providers. As noted 

above, that time frame is as soon as 

possible but no later than 30 minutes 

after discovering the outage. The 

Commission also seeks comment on 

whether this timeframe is adequate for 

PSAPs. The Commission seeks comment 

on whether and how to improve this 

proposal to shorten this timeframe for 

either or both sets of providers and/or 

adjust the reporting criteria to ensure 

more rapid and effective notification to 

PSAPs. For example, would automatic 

PSAP notification, triggered upon 

detection of an outage, be possible, 

provide value to PSAPs, and be in the 

public interest? The Commission also 

proposes that originating service 

providers transmit such notification, as 

presently required for covered 911 

service providers, by telephone and in 

writing via electronic means and that 

they communicate additional material 

information as that information becomes 

available, but no later than two hours 

after the initial notification. The 

Commission seeks comment on its 

proposed means for PSAP notification. 

Are these means—by telephone and in 

writing via electronic means—adequate 

for notifications from originating service 

providers? Are they adequate for 

notifications from covered 911 service 

providers? Are there alternative 

methods of notification that PSAPs 

would prefer? The Commission also 

seeks comment on the proposed 

frequency of updating PSAPs with 

material outage information. Is this 

proposed frequency sufficient for 

PSAPs? During an extended outage, 

when material information may not 

change for many hours, how should the 

Commission require originating and 

covered 911 service providers keep 

PSAPs informed? 

12. The Commission anticipates that 

such changes will enhance PSAP 

situational awareness of outages 

generally and will ensure that PSAPs 

receive critical information in a timely 

manner by providing a uniform set of 

expectations for those providers with 

whom they interface. This in turn will 

enhance PSAPs’ abilities to direct scarce 

resources toward mitigating outages 

rather than seeking out information and 

will further streamline the ability of the 

Commission to administer the rules and 

the ability of providers to fulfill their 

obligations. This view was underscored 

by the Association of Public-Safety 

Communications Officials (APCO), and 

comments from other public safety 

stakeholders during the Bureau’s 2017 

workshop on best practices and 

recommendations to improve situational 

awareness during 911 outages. Public 

safety officials stated that the critical 

information contained in these 

notifications enables them to be more 

efficient. One participant, Dave 

Mulholland of Arlington County 9–1–1, 

stated that prompt communication of 

this critical information would save ‘‘a 

lot of time, energy, and effort’’ by 

preventing PSAPs from needing to reach 

out to neighboring PSAPs to determine 

the breadth of an outage. Evelyn Bailey 

of the National Association of State 911 

Administrators (NASNA) continued, 

stating that ‘‘[PSAPs] need to know as 

much specific [outage] information as 

possible.’’ Public safety representatives 

requested that PSAPs receive equivalent 

outage notifications regardless of where 

in the network an outage occurs. In 

other words, according to the public 

safety representatives speaking during 

the webcast, PSAP notifications should 

not differ depending on whether the 

outage is caused by a disruption in an 

originating service provider’s network 

versus a covered 911 service provider’s 

network. As discussed below, PSAPs 

that receive actionable 911 outage 

notifications use the information in 

these notifications to facilitate reliable 

and timely public access to emergency 

services. 

13. The Commission seeks comment 

on its proposal to harmonize the timing, 

means, and frequency of PSAP 

notification for originating service 

providers and covered 911 service 

providers. While the Commission 

observes that the AT&T Mobility and TMobile outages referenced above 

provide examples of inadequate PSAP 

notifications by originating service 

providers in the context of outages that 

only affect 911 calls, the Commission 

notes that both originating and covered 

911 service providers have notice 

obligations. Both must include any 

required information in a notification to 

a PSAP only to the extent that it is 

available, both at the time of the initial 

notification and at the time of 

subsequent updates, regardless of 

whether the outage is a 911 outage or a 

general network outage that prevents all 

calls, insofar as either the outage 

disrupts or prevents communications to 

a PSAP or has the potential to do so. 47 

CFR 4.9(a)(4), (c)(2)(iv), (e)(1)(v), (f)(4), 

(g)(1)(i), (h). The Commission seeks 

comment on any alternative 

requirements that the Commission 

should consider to minimize potential 

burdens, if any, on PSAPs and service 

providers. 

14. Under the Commission’s proposed 

rules, if adopted, originating service 

providers would be under greater time 

pressure to notify PSAPs; would need to 

provide contact information so that the 

PSAP can reach them for follow up; 

would need to provide notification by 

two means (e.g., phone call and email) 

instead of one; and would need to 

provide follow-up notification. The 

Commission seeks comment on the 

extent to which these changes would 

increase the burden of PSAP 

notification for originating service 

providers. For example, the Commission 

seeks comment on whether originating 

service providers would need to 

transmit multiple, regional PSAP 

notifications under the proposed rules 

when 911 outages affect areas monitored 

by more than one Network Operations 

Center (NOC) and the local NOC is the 

best point of contact for PSAPs’ outagerelated inquiries, whereas the 

Commission’s current rules would only 

require them to transmit one. 


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15. The Commission notes that in 

certain circumstances, PSAPs may find 

that there are benefits to learning of 

outages or network disruptions that 

potentially affect 911 but do not meet 

the current reporting thresholds. Are the 

Commission’s thresholds for PSAP 

notification too high? Should the 

Commission modify these notification 

requirements so that originating and 

covered 911 service providers are 

required to notify PSAPs of network 

disruptions that potentially affect 911 

service but do not meet the thresholds 

necessary to report to the Commission? 

What would be the appropriate outage 

reporting threshold requiring PSAP 

notification? The Commission seeks 

comment on the utility to PSAPs and 

benefits to public safety of any 

consequent increased situational 

awareness of network outages 

potentially affecting 911. The 

Commission also seeks comment on the 

costs of lowering these thresholds in 

light of the expected increase in 

notifications to PSAPs. The Commission 

seeks comment on how many additional 

outages beyond the estimated 37,000 

outages that potentially affect 911 each 

year would be reportable to PSAPs. 

16. The Commission seeks comment 

on the cost and benefits of originating 

service providers notifying PSAPs about 

911 outages within the same timeframe, 

by the same means, and with the same 

frequency that covered 911 service 

providers currently do. The cost 

estimates below are incremental to the 

costs that originating service providers 

already incur to notify PSAPs of outages 

that potentially affect them pursuant to 

the Commission’s rules. The 

Commission seeks comment on those 

estimates. Additionally, the actual cost 

that originating service providers would 

incur to comply with this requirement 

may be substantially lower than 

estimated. 47 CFR 4.9(a)(4), (c)(2)(iv), 

(e)(1)(v), (f)(4), (g)(1)(i). For example, 

Verizon suggests that some service 

providers may have automated their 

PSAP outage notification processes. For 

originating service providers that have 

automated PSAP notification, the 

Commission anticipates that the 

proposed changes to the notification 

process would not result in recurring 

costs. The Commission seeks comment 

on this premise, as well as on the extent 

to which service providers have set up 

automated triggers for PSAP 

notification. The Commission expects 

that the costs of PSAP outage 

notifications will fall as service 

providers transition to an automated 

PSAP outage notification process. The 

Commission seeks comment on the 

extent to which service providers expect 

to transition to an automated 

notification process and the timeframe 

for any such transition. 

2. Ensuring PSAPs Receive Actionable 

Information About 911 Outages 

17. Since the adoption of the PSAP 

notification rules, PSAPs have reported 

that notifications they receive often are 

confusing or uninformative, and have 

emphasized the need for clear and 

actionable information regarding 911 

outages so 911 authorities can inform 

the public about alternative means to 

contact emergency services. 

Commenters representing public safety 

and industry agree that uniform 

information elements in PSAP 

notifications can help minimize 

confusion at PSAPs. The Commission 

also has observed that when PSAPs 

receive actionable 911 outage 

notifications, they are empowered to use 

reverse 911, post on social media 

platforms, work with local media to run 

on-screen text crawls, and use other 

tools at their disposal to notify the 

public of alternative means to reach 

their emergency services. During AT&T 

Mobility’s nationwide 911 outage, for 

example, when AT&T notified PSAPs in 

Orange County, Florida several hours 

after it discovered the outage, Orange 

County PSAPs were able to take 

measures to notify the public of their 

alternative 10-digit phone numbers as a 

means to reach their emergency 

services. AT&T VoLTE 911 Outage 

Report. Once Orange County PSAPs 

provided their alternative 10-digit 

phone numbers to the public, they 

received 172 calls to those numbers 

during the one and a half hours until 

AT&T Mobility resolved the outage. 

AT&T VoLTE 911 Outage Report. The 

Bureau has credited these measures as 

being critical to maintaining the public’s 

continued access to emergency services 

during several widespread 911 outages. 

AT&T VoLTE 911 Outage Report; TMobile Order; PSHSB, December 27, 

2018 CenturyLink Network Outage 

Report (2019), https://www.fcc.gov/ 

document/fcc-report-centurylinknetwork-outage/; Verizon, File Nos. EB– 

SED–14–00017189, EB–SED–14– 

00017676, EB–SED–14–00017373, 

Order, 30 FCC Rcd 2185 (EB 2015). 

18. The Commission thus proposes to 

require originating service providers 

and covered 911 service providers to 

include ‘‘all available material 

information’’ in their PSAP outage 

notifications. The Commission believes 

this proposal will help ensure that 

PSAPs receive relevant, actionable 

information to better understand 911 

outages and to promote continuity of 

911 service, while minimizing 

superfluous or vague information. In 

addition to the specific information 

elements articulated for covered 911 

service providers in the current rules, 

the Commission proposes that material 

information should also include the 

following for both originating service 

providers and covered 911 service 

providers, where available: 

• The name of the service provider 

offering the notification; 

• The name of the service provider(s) 

experiencing the outage; 

• The date and time when the 

incident began (including a notation of 

the relevant time zone); 

• The type of communications 

service(s) affected; 

• The geographic area affected by the 

outage; 

• A statement of the notifying service 

provider’s expectations for how the 

outage will affect the PSAP (e.g., 

dropped calls or missing metadata); 

• The expected date and time of 

restoration, including a notation of the 

relevant time zone; 

• The best-known cause of the outage; 

and 

• A statement of whether the message 

is the notifying service provider’s initial 

notification to the PSAP, an update to 

an initial notification, or a message 

intended to be the notifying service 

provider’s final assessment of the 

outage. 

19. These proposed outage 

notifications elements follow the 

template developed by the Alliance for 

Telecommunications Industry 

Solutions’ (ATIS) Network Reliability 

Steering Committee (NRSC) Situational 

Awareness for 9–1–1 Outages Task 

Force Subcommittee (NRSC Task Force), 

working together with public safety 

stakeholders, minus the NRSC Task 

Force’s inclusion of an incident 

identifier. In the 2018 911 Reliability 

Public Notice, the Bureau sought 

comment on whether the NRSC Task 

Force’s template should serve as a 

model for standardization, and 

commenters support the NRSC Task 

Force’s work. For example, the National 

Emergency Number Association (NENA) 

suggests that the elements of the NRSC 

Task Force’s template ‘‘will aid PSAPs 

and 9–1–1 authorities in quickly 

understanding the nature of a service 

degradation or network downtime.’’ 

20. The Commission seeks comment 

on whether these baseline elements 

would provide useful and actionable 

information to PSAPs. Will ensuring 

that PSAPs receive the same 

information regardless of where a 911 

outage originates promote situational 

awareness for PSAPs in a manner that 


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aids in emergency response? Are there 

additional informational elements that 

should be added, or should any 

elements listed be removed or revised? 

The Commission notes that the NRSC 

Task Force’s template recommends the 

inclusion of a unique identifier 

associated with the outage. Would this 

help PSAPs organize and access 

information related to a particular 

outage? APCO suggests covered 911 

service providers should also offer 

PSAPs graphical interface data 

describing the geographic area 

potentially affected by outages, such as 

‘‘coordinate boundaries for the outage 

area, GIS files, or text information from 

the covered [911] service providers’ 

internal reporting systems,’’ because 

such information could help first 

responders understand which areas 

could be affected by an outage. To what 

extent do originating and covered 911 

service providers have this information 

available within the timeframe that they 

would be required to notify PSAPs? The 

Commission seeks comment on what 

steps service providers would need to 

take to include graphical information in 

providing actionable information to 

PSAPs. The Commission asks 

commenters to describe in detail how 

PSAPs would use such data to benefit 

the public, including how such data 

could be used to reduce first responder 

response times. Would requiring them 

to provide this information to PSAPs 

impose a significant burden or divert 

resources, thereby delaying service 

restoration? To the extent service 

providers are unable to provide data for 

visualizing outages and disruptions, 

what are the costs of developing this 

capability, especially for smaller 

providers? 

21. The Commission notes that, under 

both the existing and proposed rules, 

service providers must include any 

outage information in their PSAP 

notifications only to the extent that it is 

available, both at the time that they 

transmit the initial notification and at 

the time that they transmit any 

subsequent notifications. The 

Commission seeks comment on how 

this approach has worked in practice. 

The Commission further seeks comment 

on whether requiring service providers 

to include additional, specific 

information elements in their PSAP 

notifications would allow PSAP 

personnel to comprehend outage 

information more quickly and whether 

such information would improve 

PSAPs’ ability to respond when the 

public cannot reach 911 or when 911 

services otherwise do not work as 

intended. Conversely, the Commission 

seeks comment on whether this 

additional information could have 

negative consequences for emergency 

response, such as overburdening PSAPs 

with too much information, thereby, 

potentially delaying response times. If 

so, how could the Commission revise 

the proposal to minimize the possibility 

of notification fatigue? 

22. The Commission does not propose 

to require information to be provided in 

a particular format (e.g., by mandating 

use of the NRSC Task Force’s template). 

Instead, the Commission proposes an 

approach that establishes a baseline 

expectation of shared information while 

otherwise preserving flexibility for 

originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers. PSHSB 

Shares Recommended Practices from 

September 11, 2017 911 Workshop, DA 

18–6, Public Notice, 33 FCC Rcd 11 

(PSHSB 2018). The Commission seeks 

comment on this approach, or on 

whether the Commission should 

prescribe such a format, and if so the 

terms thereof. Considering the diverse, 

localized nature of 911 networks in the 

United States, and the extent to which 

notifications already may be informed 

by originating service providers’ and 

covered 911 service providers’ 

agreements with state and local 911 

authorities, the Commission specifically 

seeks comment on whether this 

approach would allow originating 

service providers and covered 911 

service providers to better meet 

individual PSAPs’ distinct needs. The 

Commission would anticipate that 

service providers’ notification processes 

may go beyond those proposed in this 

NPRM in some circumstances, such as 

by mutual agreement of the parties. 

23. In March, the Commission 

adopted a Report and Order that 

established an outage information 

sharing framework to provide state and 

Federal agencies with access to outage 

information to improve their situational 

awareness, enhance their ability to 

respond more quickly to outages 

impacting their communities, and help 

save lives, while safeguarding the 

confidentiality of this data. 

Amendments to Part 4 of the 

Commission’s Rules Concerning 

Disruptions to Communications, PS 

Docket No. 15–80, Second Report and 

Order, 86 FR 22796 (April 29, 2021), 

FCC 21–34 (rel. Mar. 18, 2021) (Network 

Outage Reporting System (NORS) 

Information Sharing Report and Order). 

The Commission acknowledges that 

disclosing specific outage information to 

PSAPs may make that information 

available to other parties and therefore 

seek comment on whether the 

Commission should supply similar 

safeguards as adopted in the NORS 

Information Sharing Report and Order. 

The Commission seeks to balance 

PSAPs’ need for actionable information 

with providers’ need for confidentiality. 

The Commission seeks comment on 

how the Commission might address this 

balance. For example, is there a subset 

of information that would prove as 

useful for PSAPs that could be disclosed 

without overly burdening the 

presumption of confidentiality afforded 

reported outage information? Could 

PSAPs obtain access to this same outage 

information from state or other agencies 

more rapidly and efficiently than 

directly from service providers? 

24. The Commission seeks comment 

on the cost and benefits of originating 

service providers and covered 911 

service providers to report the same 

specific, actionable content in their 

PSAP outage notifications. The 

Commission anticipates the actual cost 

may be substantially lower than the 

estimate below because the estimated 

number of service providers that would 

be required to comply is conservatively 

broad. Further, the Commission expects 

that the additional information that the 

Commission proposes to require 

originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers to report 

to PSAPs already is available to them at 

the time of notification, and that the 

example of the NRSC Task Force’s 

template would help to streamline 

compliance timelines and reduce costs. 

The Commission seeks comment on 

whether standardization and 

streamlining could reduce the 

compliance costs for originating service 

providers that also act as covered 911 

service providers in other contexts, or 

for originating service providers that are 

already offering notifications to PSAPs, 

but doing so with limited guidance on 

what information to provide. The 

Commission also notes that the NRSC 

has already created and shared a tutorial 

for PSAPs to facilitate the sharing of 

PSAP contact information with 

originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers. The 

NRSC stated that it ‘‘expects that both 

service providers and PSAPs can benefit 

from this tutorial.’’ To the extent that 

commenters advocate a different 

approach, the Commission asks for costs 

and benefits of such alternatives. 

3. Updating and Maintaining Accurate 

Contact Information for Officials 

Designated To Receive Outage 

Notifications at Each PSAP 

25. The Commission’s current outage 

reporting rules require originating 

service providers and covered 911 

service providers to transmit PSAP 


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outage notifications to any official who 

has been designated by the management 

of the affected PSAP as the provider’s 

contact person for communications 

outages at that facility. 47 CFR 4.9(a)(4), 

(c)(2)(iv), (e)(1)(v), (f)(4), (g)(1)(i), (h). To 

ensure that PSAPs receive the 

information they need about 911 

outages, the Commission proposes to 

require originating service providers 

and covered 911 service providers to 

develop and implement procedures for 

gathering, maintaining, and updating 

PSAP contact information. Because time 

is of the essence when a 911 outage 

occurs, originating service providers 

and covered 911 service providers must 

notify the right contacts at PSAPs so 

that the PSAPs can take prompt 

measures to help the public continue to 

reach emergency services. 

26. The Commission proposes to 

amend § 4.9(h) of its rules to require 

both originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers to 

identify the PSAPs they serve and to 

maintain up-to-date contact information 

for those PSAPs. In particular, the 

Commission proposes to require that 

originating and covered 911 service 

providers develop and implement 

standard procedures to: (1) Maintain 

current contact information for officials 

designated to receive outage 

notifications at each PSAP in areas that 

they serve; and (2) on a routine basis, at 

least annually, review and update their 

PSAP contact information to ensure it 

remains current. The Commission seeks 

comment on this proposal. The 

Commission also seeks comment on 

whether to require originating service 

providers and covered 911 service 

providers to offer contact information 

reciprocally to PSAPs. The Commission 

does not, however, propose to specify 

the procedures that service providers 

must develop or follow to elicit PSAP 

contact information to retain flexibility 

in this regard. The Commission seeks 

comment on this approach. 

27. The Commission seeks comment 

on the cost and benefits of originating 

service providers and covered 911 

service providers to maintain up-to-date 

contact information for PSAPs in areas 

they serve. The Commission anticipates 

that the actual costs that originating 

service providers and covered 911 

service providers would incur to 

comply with this requirement may be 

substantially lower than the estimate 

below because the Commission’s rules 

already require these service providers 

to notify PSAPs of 911 outages and, as 

such, they should already have accurate 

PSAP outage contact information on 

hand. Insofar as service providers 

already have up to date PSAP contact 

information, the Commission does not 

anticipate that compliance with this 

proposed requirement would present an 

incremental cost. 

28. The Commission also notes that in 

November 2019, the NRSC Task Force 

approved standard operating procedures 

for updating PSAP contact information 

in a centralized PSAP contact database. 

In that document, the Task Force 

suggested that a centralized database 

would potentially relieve service 

providers of the need to maintain their 

own internal processes and 

responsibilities to work independently 

with each 911 authority. Subsequently, 

in October 2020, the NRSC noted efforts 

by public safety organizations such as 

NENA to develop a PSAP contact 

database. The NRSC stated that to 

encourage broad use of a PSAP contact 

information database, it ‘‘would need to 

be made available at little or no cost’’ for 

service providers. The NRSC also 

expressed concerns regarding data 

integrity and who would be responsible 

for updating contact information. As 

such, the NRSC argued that industry 

adoption of such a database could prove 

challenging due to ‘‘the potential for 

liability associated with reliance on the 

database.’’ 

29. The Bureau sought comment on 

the NRSC letter in December 2020. 86 

FR 4074. In response, USTelecom called 

a PSAP contact information database 

‘‘critically important for industry and 

PSAP coordination during 

emergencies.’’ NENA, which operates a 

voluntary PSAP registry service, stated 

that there is an ‘‘immediate need for an 

authoritative service that can provide 

contact information for PSAPs during 

emergencies.’’ APCO continued its 

support of a PSAP contact information 

database and urged the Commission to 

require service providers to establish 

and maintain a secure two-way contact 

information database. These comments 

indicate strong interest in a PSAP 

contact information database to 

facilitate reliable and rapid 

communication between service 

providers and PSAPs in an emergency. 

30. Therefore, the Commission seeks 

comment on whether a mandatory PSAP 

contact information database accessible 

to and updated by originating and 

covered 911 service providers, as well 

as PSAPs, would warrant the 

Commission adopting alternative 

requirements other than those proposed 

above. The Commission seeks comment 

on the contours of such a database. 

31. As a threshold question, the 

Commission asks how such a database 

would be administered. Should the 

Commission, as APCO International 

suggests, require service providers to 

host and operate the database? Are 

originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers already 

participating in the development of a 

centralized PSAP contact database? The 

Commission notes the efforts of wireless 

carriers previously to establish the 

National Emergency Address Database 

(NEAD) to facilitate provision of 911 

dispatchable location information for 

wireless callers. 80 FR 45897. However, 

wireless carriers notified the 

Commission that they had abandoned 

the NEAD after failing to secure 

necessary agreements with other 

entities. The Commission notes further 

the commitment of several wireless 

provider signatories to the Wireless 

Resiliency Cooperative Framework 

(Framework) to ‘‘establish[] a provider/ 

PSAP contact database’’ to enhance 

coordination during an emergency, the 

existence of which may mitigate the 

costs of creating a PSAP contact 

information database, particularly for 

those wireless provider signatories. 78 

FR 69018. What particular lessons 

learned may be relevant for a similar 

service provider-operated PSAP contact 

information database? The Commission 

seeks comment on the utility of a 

database developed, owned, and 

operated by both originating and 

covered 911 service providers. 

32. The Commission also seeks 

comment on how such a database would 

be funded and how such a funding 

mechanism would impact smaller 

service providers. As noted below, 

charging PSAPs and public safety 

entities for access to the database could 

inhibit PSAP participation in the 

database, which would be inconsistent 

with the Commission’s stated goal of 

enhancing public safety. What funding 

mechanisms would work for such a 

database? How much would the creation 

and maintenance of such a PSAP 

contact information database cost for 

initial setup? Given that many service 

providers already maintain updated 

PSAP contact information, the 

Commission seeks comment on the ease 

and costs of transitioning from many 

independent databases to a unified 

database. What would the recurring 

costs of maintaining and updating a 

PSAP contact information database be? 

While such a database would appear to 

provide certain informational benefits, 

how significant would these benefits be 

in practice? The Commission also asks 

commenters to describe these (or any 

other) potential benefits with 

specificity. 

33. The Commission is especially 

interested in how a PSAP contact 

information database would best be kept 

current and accurate, as well as where 


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the responsibility for updating and 

maintaining the database would lie. The 

Commission notes that the utility of a 

PSAP contact information database is 

dependent upon the accuracy of the 

information it contains. The 

Commission consequently seeks 

comment on how best to ensure the 

reliability and integrity of the data 

contained therein. For example, NENA’s 

PSAP registry is free of charge for 

PSAPs. The Commission seeks comment 

on whether allowing PSAPs to 

participate free of charge will enhance 

the accuracy of PSAP contact 

information in the database. 

Furthermore, the Commission seeks 

comment on whether users and creators 

of a PSAP contact information database 

should be prohibited from using that 

information for any other purpose not 

related to public safety or maintenance 

of the database. The Commission seeks 

comment on whether and how 

frequently service providers and PSAPs 

would update their own information in 

the database. Would the operator of the 

database need to regularly validate this 

information on a monthly or annual 

basis? The Commission seeks comment 

on the frequency of data validation 

necessary to ensure the integrity and 

accuracy of the database. 

34. If service providers elect to have 

a third party operate the PSAP contact 

information database, the Commission 

seeks comment on what possible 

liability issues could arise from such a 

third-party database. If the failure of a 

service provider to notify a PSAP of an 

outage were due to inaccurate 

information in the database, who would 

the potential liable parties be? Several 

commenters argue that service providers 

should be shielded from liability for 

reliance upon information provided by 

the PSAP contact information database. 

The Commission seeks comment on 

whether such a safe harbor would 

encourage or inhibit use of the PSAP 

contact information database. Would 

such an effort help to reduce the costs 

of compliance with this proposal? 

Further, rather than establishing a safe 

harbor rule, would service provider 

liability concerns be more appropriately 

addressed through a requirement that 

service providers contracting with third 

party database operators require those 

operators to implement measures to 

ensure the accuracy of the third-party 

database that are at least as stringent as 

the measures that the service providers 

employ for their internal databases? 

B. Customer Notification of 911 Outages 

35. When an outage affects 911 

service, dialing ‘‘9–1–1’’ may not always 

connect someone in need of emergency 

services with a PSAP, which may lead 

to devastating effects. However, those in 

need of emergency services often do not 

know when 911 services are down, only 

that their emergency calls remain 

unanswered. Therefore, to increase 

public awareness of 911 availability and 

to help protect the public’s safety when 

911 services are disrupted, the 

Commission proposes to require service 

providers to notify their customers of 

911 outages within 60 minutes of 

determining there is an outage by 

providing material information on their 

websites and internet-related 

applications. 

36. Notification Breadth. The 

Commission proposes that cable, 

satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, and covered 911 

service providers notify their customers 

when there is an outage that affects the 

availability of 911 voice or text-to-911 

services for their customers. This 

includes both originating service 

providers and covered services 

providers, as they each provide an 

essential link in the chain to ensure 

completion of a 911 call. Because 911 

unavailability due to an outage on a 

covered 911 service provider’s network 

affects originating service providers as 

well, the Commission proposes to 

require both originating service 

providers and covered 911 service 

providers supply public notification of 

911 unavailability to their customers. 

The Commission seeks comment on this 

proposal. 

37. Notification Threshold. The 

Commission proposes that service 

providers notify their customers of a 911 

outage that meets the NORS reporting 

thresholds and also prevents emergency 

callers on their networks from reaching 

a PSAP by dialing or texting 9–1–1. The 

Commission believes that such a 

threshold would minimize potential 

confusion about 911 availability and 

ensure that the public is only notified of 

outages that materially affect emergency 

callers. The Commission seeks comment 

on this public notification threshold. 

For example, if 911 calls are delivered 

but without audio for one of the parties 

(either caller or 911 call taker), should 

this be considered 911 unavailability? If 

callers cannot reach emergency services 

by dialing 9–1–1 but text-to-911 still 

operates, should this constitute 911 

unavailability? And should a situation 

where text-to-911 is unavailable due to 

a network disruption but traditional 

voice calls to 911 are possible constitute 

911 unavailability? As consumers with 

disabilities may be more likely to text 

rather than call 911, are there additional 

considerations in determining 911 

unavailability? The Commission seeks 

comment on whether this threshold is 

too narrow, and if so, which additional 

types of disruptions to 911 services 

should trigger public notification. For 

example, should a loss of transmission 

of ALI or ANI prompt public 

notification? The Commission also seeks 

comment on whether this threshold is 

too broad. 

38. Notification Timing and 

Frequency. The utility of notifications is 

inextricably tied to the service 

provider’s ability to deliver timely and 

accurate notifications. The Commission 

proposes a similar arrangement for 

public notifications as presented in 

§ 4.9(h) of the Commission’s rules for 

PSAPs: The Commission proposes that 

customer notifications commence 

within 60 minutes of the service 

provider discovering that the outage has 

resulted in the unavailability of 911 

service. 47 CFR 4.9(h). With this 

proposal, the Commission seeks to 

balance the import of providing the 

public with the timely ability to access 

emergency services with the necessity of 

providing accurate outage information. 

The Commission understands that when 

9–1–1 is unavailable, both service 

providers and PSAPs are working 

diligently to make sure the public can 

reach emergency services. The 

Commission seeks comment on this 

proposal. The Commission maintains 

that such an initial notification of 911 

unavailability will increase the 

likelihood that those in need will 

understand that 9–1–1 is unavailable 

and attempt other methods to receive 

necessary emergency assistance. In 

addition, similar to the proposal 

regarding PSAP notification timing 

discussed above, the Commission 

proposes that service providers update 

public notices with material information 

regarding the estimated time of 911 

restoration as soon as possible. The 

provision of updates to the public will 

help redirect emergency callers back to 

9–1–1 and ensure that PSAPs may 

return to normal call-taking status. The 

Commission seeks comment on this 

proposal. Is 60 minutes the appropriate 

threshold? Will this timing obligation 

interfere with service providers’ ability 

to provide notice and support to PSAPs? 

Are there other burdens that this timing 

proposal creates? How can they be 

mitigated? Conversely, is this timeframe 

too lengthy to provide meaningful 

information to the public? 

39. Notification Content. The 

Commission proposes to require that 

service providers create public 

notifications that include the following: 

(1) A statement that there is an outage 

affecting 911 availability, (2) a 

description of the geographic area where 


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911 callers may face 911 unavailability, 

(3) an estimated time that 911 service 

became unavailable, and (4) an estimate 

of when 911 services will be restored. 

The Commission further proposes that 

service providers be required to include 

alternative means to reach emergency 

services, such as alternative contact 

information, at the request of the PSAP, 

on a per outage basis. The Commission 

proposes that a service provider should 

contact the PSAP(s) affected by 911 

unavailability as soon as possible after 

discovery of an outage, but no later than 

30 minutes after discovery to determine 

what, if any, alternative means of 

contact the PSAP would like made 

publicly available for the duration of the 

incident. The Commission proposes 

these elements to ensure that public 

notifications are accurate and easily 

understood by end-users and are 

accessible for individuals with 

disabilities. The Commission believes 

these elements also will reduce 

potential confusion and avoid 

inadvertently increasing burdens on 

PSAPs. In this respect, a description of 

the geographic scope of 911 

unavailability, for example, will ensure 

that only those affected by 911 

unavailability use alternate means other 

than 911 to contact emergency services. 

For the same reasons, including the time 

at which 911 first became unavailable 

and the estimated time of restoration in 

notices will ensure end-users know 

when they should seek alternatives, 

updating consumers regarding 

restoration time will help redirect 

emergency callers back to 9–1–1, which 

in turn will help PSAPs return to 

normal operations. The Commission 

seeks comment on this proposal. Is the 

Commission including the right 

elements for effective public 

notification? Will those seeking 

emergency services find this 

information pertinent in their time of 

need? The Commission also seeks 

comment on best practices for 

describing geographic boundaries of 

affected areas. For example, a state’s 

borders are frequently known but an 

outage affecting a smaller area, or an 

area spanning state borders, may be 

more difficult to accurately describe. At 

what fidelity and how should this 

information be conveyed? The 

Commission also seeks comment on the 

potential costs and benefits of this 

proposal. 

40. The Commission also seeks 

comment on this proposal in light of the 

currently presumptively confidential 

treatment of outage reports and the 

recent adoption of a Report and Order 

that provides direct access to NORS and 

Disaster Information Reporting System 

filings by certain public safety and 

emergency management agencies of the 

50 states, the District of Columbia, 

Tribal nations, territories, and Federal 

Government, provided that they follow 

safeguards adopted by the Commission. 

NORS Information Sharing Report and 

Order. Information reported to the 

Commission under its part 4 reporting 

rules is presumed confidential due to its 

sensitive nature to both national 

security and commercial 

competitiveness. The Commission 

proposes that a subset of this outage 

report information be made publicly 

available, and at a less granular level 

than what it provided to the 

Commission on a confidential basis, in 

order to advise PSAPs and consumers 

when 911 service is unavailable and to 

arrange for alternate methods for 

consumers to contact PSAPs. The 

Commission believes that this approach 

would save lives and improve 

emergency outcomes involving, for 

example, illness and injury, and that the 

benefits of disclosure far outweigh the 

increase in the risk of national security 

or commercial competitiveness harms. 

The Commission seeks comment on the 

relationship between the need for the 

confidentiality afforded reported part 4 

outage information and the public’s 

interest in 911 availability in times of 

critical need. Is there specific 

information that would be conveyed 

under this public notification proposal 

that could implicate national security or 

commercial competitiveness? How 

might the Commission modify the 

parameters of the proposed customer 

notification to address such concerns? 

41. Given that network disruptions 

sometimes vary in duration, geographic 

scope, and intensity, the Commission 

seeks comment on whether and to what 

extent service providers can develop 

public notification content in 

partnership with PSAPs in advance of 

unplanned outages. The Commission 

also notes that PSAPs are best 

positioned to determine what contact 

information to disseminate to the public 

during a 911 outage and that PSAPs may 

wish to coordinate the message 

delivered by service providers with 

their own outreach via social media or 

other avenues. The Commission 

understands that in an outage affecting 

multiple PSAPs, any public notification 

will also need to include a geographic 

description of where callers may not be 

able to reach emergency services by 

dialing 9–1–1 to prevent possible caller 

confusion and misdirected emergency 

calls. As such, the Commission seeks 

comment on how PSAPs and service 

providers collectively can best develop 

public notification information in 

advance of 911 unavailability. 

42. Notification Medium. The 

Commission proposes to require service 

providers to post public notification of 

911 outages prominently on their 

websites and internet-based 

applications, such as provider-specific 

apps for mobile devices. This 

information should be quickly 

accessible, with one click, from the 

main page of a service provider’s 

website (e.g., T-Mobile.com or 

Verizon.com), and be accessible for 

individuals with disabilities. The 

Commission believes that this will 

allow those seeking critical information 

on 911 unavailability during an 

emergency to obtain the information 

necessary to determine their next steps 

in procuring emergency services quickly 

without being inundated with 

information regarding 911 

unavailability. Public notification in 

this manner may also avoid creating 

competing messaging with PSAPs that 

may choose to use affirmative outreach 

methods such as reverse 911 or other 

public notification systems to notify the 

public of a 911 outage. Because these 

require the consumer to take action, 

public notifications conveyed over 

websites and through mobile device 

apps do not actively alert the consumer 

like wireless emergency alerts and thus 

do not contribute to alerting fatigue, and 

may complement those active measures 

that may be utilized by local PSAPs. 

43. The Commission acknowledges 

that there are many other methods to 

effectuate public notifications of 

disruptions to 911 availability: Text 

messages, emails, phone calls, social 

media, and posting on service provider 

websites and applications all provide 

near-real-time opportunities to update 

the public on how best to reach 

emergency services. Each has its pluses 

and minuses. For example, while they 

do not require affirmative action by the 

consumer, text messages are 

undeliverable to traditional wireline 

numbers and service providers may not 

have email addresses for customers. In 

addition, the Commission is concerned 

that methods of public notification 

requiring broadcasting 911 

unavailability broadly may engender a 

lack of confidence in the ability to reach 

emergency services by dialing 9–1–1. 

The Commission believes that public 

confidence in 911 is critical; indeed, the 

Commission has long sought to buttress 

the public’s confidence in 911. 80 FR 

3191. Consequently, the Commission 

believes that this proposal will best 

allow those seeking emergency 

assistance to determine alternative 


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means to reach emergency services. The 

Commission seeks comment on this 

assessment. Would public confidence in 

911 decrease in the face of too many 

alerts regarding 911 unavailability? 

Conversely, would greater transparency 

alleviate concerns that 911 services may 

be unavailable without the public’s 

knowledge? Are there benefits to other 

means of notification, such as text 

messaging, automated phone calls, or 

email, that the Commission has 

overlooked and that merit their 

inclusion? Would other means of 

notification more effectively reach 

communities where there is limited 

internet connectivity, for example, on 

some Tribal lands? Further, in areas 

where a significant portion of the 

population does not speak English as a 

primary language, should the 

Commission require service providers to 

include multiple language options for 

the public notification? 

44. In addition to accessible public 

notification on originating and covered 

911 service provider websites, the 

Commission envisions that those 

seeking additional information would 

be able to input their location by 

address into their provider’s website (or 

similar mobile app) and in turn receive 

more specific information on the 

geographic scope of the outage. The 

Commission notes that Verizon already 

provides ‘‘Network Notifications’’ in the 

My Verizon App, which provide 

Verizon Wireless customers with 

information on network disruptions and 

when restoration is expected. The 

Commission seeks comment on this 

proposal for how customers might 

obtain additional information and how 

it might be implemented in a way that 

preserves confidence in 9–1–1, provides 

value to those in need, and is minimally 

burdensome on originating and covered 

911 service providers. 

45. Finally, the Commission seeks 

comment on the costs and benefits of 

this proposal. Is there an affordable 

alternative method of public notification 

that balances the needs of the public to 

know whether dialing 9–1–1 will reach 

emergency services with the 

Commission’s commitment to 

preserving public confidence in 911? To 

what extent have service providers 

already implemented a notification 

framework for other alerts and 

important announcements that would 

reduce any website development costs 

associated with this proposal? 

Alternatively, are there other methods of 

public notifications, such as using text 

messages or automated phone calls, 

which would be likely to reach a larger 

proportion of service providers’ 

customers and those customers who 

may have limited internet connectivity? 

The Commission seeks comment on the 

benefits and costs of implementing 

these alternatives. 

C. Updating the Commission’s 911 

Network Reliability Framework 

46. Covered 911 service providers 

must certify annually to the 

Commission that they perform three 

reasonable measures to promote the 

reliability of their networks: Ensure 

circuit diversity, maintain backup 

power at central offices, and diversify 

network monitoring. 47 CFR 9.19(b). In 

2018, the Bureau asked commenters to 

address these 911 reliability rules’ 

effectiveness and whether they ‘‘remain 

technologically appropriate, and both 

adequate and necessary to ensure the 

reliability and resiliency of 911 

networks.’’ 2018 911 Reliability Public 

Notice. The record contains widespread 

support for the 911 reliability rules, 

with commenters stating that the 

Commission’s three reasonable 

measures are appropriate and strengthen 

911 network reliability and resiliency. 

Accordingly, the Commission finds that 

its 911 reliability rules continue to be 

technologically appropriate and both 

adequate and necessary, and the 

Commission does not intend in this 

proceeding to revisit or reopen those 

requirements, except as to the timing of 

the certification as noted herein. 

47. On this point, commenters differ 

regarding the appropriate frequency for 

filing the required certification. Some 

commenters state that the current, 

annual certification remains necessary 

to promote awareness of 911 reliability 

issues for covered 911 service providers’ 

senior management and employees. 

Others state that less frequent 

certification could make the provision 

of reliable 911 service more costeffective by decreasing the burden on 

providers without affecting 911 network 

resiliency. The Commission seeks 

comment on whether, as some 

commenters suggest, less frequent 

certification would be an effective 

means of reducing compliance burdens, 

without sacrificing its benefits. The 

Commission emphasizes that it would 

not be making any changes to the 

fundamental obligations underlying 

network reliability certifications— 

namely, the requirements to ensure 

circuit diversity, maintain backup 

power at central offices, and diversify 

network monitoring. Would increasing 

the time between 911 network reliability 

certifications—such as requiring only 

biennial certifications—affect public 

safety outcomes? If so, could the 

Commission offset any potential risk 

that less frequent certification would 

affect public safety by requiring covered 

911 service providers to submit 

certifications when they perform a 

‘‘material network change’’ during the 

preceding year? If so, how should the 

Commission define a ‘‘material network 

change?’’ For those advocating less 

frequent certifications, what would the 

cost savings be? The Commission also 

asks for costs and benefits of any offered 

alternatives. 

48. The Commission also proposes to 

require covered 911 service providers 

that have ceased to operate as such— 

i.e., they no longer provide covered 911 

services, or no longer operate one or 

more central offices that directly serve 

a PSAP—to notify the Commission via 

an affidavit in which the service 

provider would explain the basis for its 

change in status. 47 CFR 9.19(a)(4)(i). 

The Commission proposes that, should 

a service provider no longer provide 

covered 911 services, the service 

provider file an affidavit through the 

Commission’s online portal during the 

timeframe when the portal is open for 

annual reliability certifications. The 

Commission notes that, in 2020, the 

Commission opened the 911 reliability 

portal for certification filing from July 

30 through October 15. Public Safety 

and Homeland Security Bureau 

Announces Availability of 911 

Reliability Certification System for 

Annual Reliability Certifications, PS 

Docket Nos. 13–75 and 11–60, Public 

Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 8082 (PSHSB 2020). 

The Commission seeks comment on the 

appropriateness of linking the 

timeframe to file such an affidavit with 

the period that the portal is open. Is the 

911 Reliability System the correct place 

for filing? The Commission proposes 

these measures to ensure that the 

Commission does not expend time and 

resources to investigate why a covered 

911 service provider has failed to file its 

911 certification in a timely manner, 

when the reason is simply because the 

provider is no longer a covered 911 

service provider and is therefore no 

longer required to file the required 

certifications. The Commission expects 

few companies to end their covered 911 

service operations from year to year and 

expect such filing costs would be 

minimal. The Commission believes that 

the benefits, however, will be much 

greater. First, the Commission will be 

able to more quickly determine whether 

a service provider is a covered 911 

service provider before engaging in an 

investigation. Second, any service 

provider that has ceased its qualifying 

covered 911 operations and filed with 

the Commission that it has done so will 

not have to encounter an investigation 


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into whether the service provider failed 

to file its 911 reliability certifications. 

The Commission seeks comment on 

these proposals, their costs and benefits, 

as well as on potential alternatives for 

service providers to supply this 

information to the Commission. 

D. Administrative Line Definition 

49. The Commission defines a 

covered 911 service provider in part as 

an entity that ‘‘operates one or more 

central offices that directly serve a 

PSAP. For purposes of this section, a 

central office directly serves a PSAP if 

it . . . is the last service-provider 

facility through which a 911 trunk or 

administrative line passes before 

coming to a PSAP.’’ 47 CFR 

9.19(a)(4)(i)(B). Under the current rules, 

a service provider that provides phone 

service to a PSAP but does not provide 

specific 911-related services to the 

PSAP is considered a covered 911 

service provider due to its provision of 

an ‘‘administrative line.’’ Neither the 

Commission’s rules nor its precedent 

presently define the term 

‘‘administrative line’’ for purposes of 

the Commission’s 911 reliability rules. 

The Commission proposes to define 

‘‘administrative line’’ for the purpose of 

its 911 reliability framework as a 

business line or line group that connects 

to a PSAP but is not used as the default 

or primary route over which 911 calls 

are transmitted to the PSAP. The 

Commission seeks comment on this 

proposed definition. The Commission 

anticipates that this clarification will 

simplify service providers’ 

determination of whether they are an 

originating service provider or a covered 

911 service provider. The Commission 

believes that this, in turn, will reduce 

the potential that a service provider fails 

to file required 911 reliability 

certifications. This proposal appears to 

only accrue benefits, but the 

Commission nevertheless seeks 

comment on its potential benefits and 

costs. The Commission seeks comment 

on this analysis and asks whether there 

are any potential ramifications from this 

proposal of which the Commission is 

not aware. Commenters suggesting 

alternatives to this proposal should also 

include comment on anticipated costs 

and benefits. 

E. Codifying Adopted Rules 

50. In 2016, the Commission adopted 

a Report and Order that modernized the 

Commission’s network outage reporting 

rules. 81 FR 45055 (2016 Part 4 Order). 

One of those requirements, however, 

was not at the time codified in the Code 

of Federal Regulations. The part 4 rules 

exempt satellite and terrestrial wireless 

providers from reporting outages that 

potentially affect airports, and the 2016 

Part 4 Order ‘‘extend[ed] that exemption 

to all special offices and facilities,’’ and 

‘‘extend[ed] the wireless exemption for 

satellite and terrestrial wireless carriers 

to all special offices and facilities.’’ 47 

CFR 4.9(c)(2)(iii), (e)(1)(iv); 2016 Part 4 

Order. The Commission proposes to 

codify these changes to its rules in the 

Code of Federal Regulations, and seeks 

comment on this proposal. 

F. Compliance Timeframes 

51. The Commission proposes to 

require originating service providers 

and covered 911 service providers to 

comply with any adopted rules that it 

has proposed to harmonize PSAP outage 

notification requirements and ensure 

the receipt by PSAPs of more actionable 

911 outage information by April 1, 2022. 

The Commission believes that the 

revisions proposed in this document 

constitute only minor changes to 

existing procedures and therefore 

believe that the time between adoption 

of the rules, as well as subsequent Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval, and the compliance date 

would be sufficient. The Commission 

seeks comment on this assessment. The 

Commission seeks comment on whether 

allowing additional time for small- and 

medium-sized businesses to comply 

with the requirements the Commission 

proposes in this document would serve 

the public interest. 

52. The Commission proposes to 

require originating service providers 

and covered 911 service providers to 

update and maintain accurate contact 

information for officials designated to 

receive outage notifications at each 

PSAP in areas they serve no later than 

April 1, 2022. While the Commission 

expects that many originating service 

providers and covered 911 service 

providers will already have accurate 

contact information on hand for most if 

not all of the PSAPs in their service 

areas, the Commission seeks to allow 

sufficient time for them to further 

develop and implement those 

procedures pursuant to the 

requirements that the Commission 

proposes in this document (for example, 

by developing and transmitting an email 

survey to their the best-known PSAP 

email address(es), following up as 

appropriate, and identifying and 

remedying any gaps in their PSAP 

contact lists). The Commission seeks 

comment on this approach. 

53. In addition, the Commission 

proposes that its 911 unavailability 

public notification framework, which 

would require originating and covered 

911 service providers to provide their 

customers with notification of certain 

disruptions to 911 service that result in 

the unavailability of 911 to reach 

emergency services, take effect no later 

than June 1, 2022. The proposal 

regarding contact information, 

discussed above, will give service 

providers the opportunity to further 

coordinate with PSAPs to determine, in 

advance of disruptions to 911 

availability, any alternative contact 

information that the PSAPs wish to 

convey to the public. The Commission 

anticipates that service providers may 

need more time to develop a locationbased web page to provide public 

notification of 911 unavailability than in 

developing systems to update and 

maintain accurate contact information 

for official designated to receive outage 

notifications. The Commission seeks 

comment on this proposal. 

G. Benefits and Costs 

54. For all foregoing proposals, the 

Commission estimates the costs that its 

proposed rules would impose on all 

service providers of approximately a 

$2,398,000 one-time cost and a 

$4,557,000 annually recurring cost. The 

Commission tentatively concludes that 

the benefits of PSAP outage notification 

will be well in excess of these costs. 

Public safety benefits, however, are 

difficult to quantify. This difficulty in 

quantification, however, does not 

diminish in any way the benefits of 

providing outage information to PSAPs. 

The Commission finds that the benefits 

attributable to outage notification are 

substantial and may have significant 

positive effects on the abilities of PSAPs 

to safeguard the health and safety of 

residents during outages that threaten 

residents’ ability to reach 911. In 

particular, the Commission expects that 

both the PSAP notification proposals 

and the customer notification proposals 

will provide the information necessary 

to allow consumers to reach emergency 

services more quickly during an outage 

potentially affecting 911, thus reducing 

first responder times and improving 

public health and safety. The 

Commission urges commenters to 

supply detailed examples of likely 

benefits and estimates of their value 

where possible. 

55. The Commission’s one-time cost 

estimate of $2,398,000 consists of 

$50,000 to create an email survey to 

biannually solicit PSAP contact 

information, $99,000 to update PSAP 

outage notification templates, and 

$2,249,000 to implement a websitebased framework that companies can 

use to notify their customers about 

outages. The Commission’s estimate that 

annually recurring costs of $4,557,000 


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consist of $1,258,000 for notifying 

PSAPs of outages that potentially affect 

them pursuant to the standards that the 

Commission proposes in this document, 

$197,000 for identifying PSAPs that 

could potentially be affected by a 

service outage, $197,000 for soliciting 

from PSAPs appropriate contact 

information for outage notification, and 

$2,905,000 to publicly notify customers 

of 911 unavailability on company 

websites. The Commission seeks 

comment on all these estimates. At this 

time, the Commission is unaware of 

alternative approaches with lower costs 

that would still ensure that PSAPs 

receive timely information about 

outages that impact their service areas 

and ask commenters to provide detailed 

cost estimates. The Commission is 

interested in possible alternatives from 

commenters, however, and seeks 

comment. Any suggestions of alternative 

approaches should include both cost 

and benefit estimates. 

IV. Procedural Matters 

56. Ex Parte Presentations. The 

proceedings shall be treated as ‘‘permitbut-disclose’’ proceedings in accordance 

with the Commission’s ex parte rules. 

47 CFR 1.1200 through 1.1216. Persons 

making ex parte presentations must file 

a copy of any written presentation or a 

memorandum summarizing any oral 

presentation within two business days 

after the presentation (unless a different 

deadline applicable to the Sunshine 

period applies). Persons making oral ex 

parte presentations are reminded that 

memoranda summarizing the 

presentation must (1) list all persons 

attending or otherwise participating in 

the meeting at which the ex parte 

presentation was made and (2) 

summarize all data presented and 

arguments made during the 

presentation. If the presentation 

consisted in whole or in part of the 

presentation of data or arguments 

already reflected in the presenter’s 

written comments, memoranda, or other 

filings in the proceeding, the presenter 

may provide citations to such data or 

arguments in his or her prior comments, 

memoranda, or other filings (specifying 

the relevant page and/or paragraph 

numbers where such data or arguments 

can be found) in lieu of summarizing 

them in the memorandum. Documents 

shown or given to Commission staff 

during ex parte meetings are deemed to 

be written ex parte presentations and 

must be filed consistent with rule 

§ 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by 

rule § 1.49(f) or for which the 

Commission has made available a 

method of electronic filing, written ex 

parte presentations and memoranda 

summarizing oral ex parte 

presentations, and all attachments 

thereto, must be filed through the 

electronic comment filing system 

available for that proceeding, and must 

be filed in their native format (e.g. .doc, 

.xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants 

in the proceeding should familiarize 

themselves with the Commission’s ex 

parte rules. 

57. Comment Filing Procedures. 

Pursuant to the Commission’s rules, 

interested parties may file comments 

and reply comments on or before the 

dates indicated on this notice of 

proposed rulemaking. Comments and 

reply comments may be filed using the 

Commission’s Electronic Comment 

Filing System (ECFS). 47 CFR 1.415, 

1.419; 63 FR 24121. 

• Electronic Filers: Comments may be 

filed electronically using the internet by 

accessing the ECFS. http://apps.fcc.gov/ 

ecfs. 

• Paper Filers: Parties who choose to 

file by paper must file an original and 

one copy of each filing. If more than one 

docket or rulemaking number appears in 

the caption of this proceeding, filers 

must submit two additional copies for 

each additional docket or rulemaking 

number. 

Filings can be sent by hand or 

messenger delivery, by commercial 

overnight courier, or by first class or 

overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All 

filings must be addressed to the 

Commission’s Secretary, Office of the 

Secretary, Federal Communications 

Commission. 

D All hand-delivered or messengerdelivered paper filings for the 

Commission’s Secretary must be 

delivered to FCC Headquarters at 45 L 

St. NE, Washington, DC 20554. The 

filing hours are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

All hand deliveries must be held 

together with rubber bands or fasteners. 

Any envelopes and boxes must be 

disposed of before entering the building. 

D Commercial overnight mail (other 

than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail 

and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 

Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 

20701. 

D U.S. Postal Service first-class, 

Express, and Priority mail must be 

addressed to 45 L St. NE, Washington, 

DC 20554. 

58. People with Disabilities. To 

request materials in accessible formats 

for people with disabilities (braille, 

large print, electronic files, audio 

format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov 

or call the Consumer and Governmental 

Affairs Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice), 

or 202–418–0432 (tty). 

59. Regulatory Flexibility Act. The 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as 

amended (RFA), requires that an agency 

prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis 

for notice and comment rulemakings, 

unless the agency certifies that ‘‘the rule 

will not, if promulgated, have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities.’’ 5 

U.S.C. 601 through 12, as amended by 

Public Law 104–121. Accordingly, the 

Commission has prepared an Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 

concerning the possible significant 

economic impact on small entities of the 

polices and rules contained in this 

NPRM. 5 U.S.C. 603(b)(3). 

60. Initial Paperwork Reduction Act 

Analysis. This NPRM may contain 

proposed new and modified information 

collection requirements. The 

Commission, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 

invites the general public to comment 

on the information collection 

requirements contained in this 

document, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public 

Law 104–13. In addition, pursuant to 

the Small Business Paperwork Relief 

Act of 2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 

U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the Commission seeks 

specific comment on how it might 

‘‘further reduce the information 

collection burden for small business 

concerns with fewer than 25 

employees.’’ 

61. Further Information. For further 

information, contact Beau Finley, 

Attorney-Advisor, Cybersecurity and 

Communications Reliability Division, 

Public Safety and Homeland Security 

Bureau, at 202–418–7835, or via email 

at Robert.Finley@fcc.gov. 

V. Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis 

62. As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended 

(RFA), the Commission has prepared 

this Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (IRFA) of the possible 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities by 

the policies and rules proposed in this 

NPRM. 5 U.S.C. 603. Written public 

comments are requested on this IRFA. 

Comments must be identified as 

responses to the IRFA and must be filed 

by the deadlines for comments on this 

NPRM. 

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the 

Proposed Rules 

63. In this proceeding, the 

Commission takes steps to improve the 

reliability and resiliency of 

telecommunications networks 

nationwide and 911 networks 

specifically so that the American public 

can continue to reach emergency 


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services without undue delay or 

disruption. In particular, the NPRM 

proposes and seeks comment on 

measures to harmonize the 

Commission’s Public Safety Answering 

Points (PSAP) outage notification rules 

such that all service providers must 

notify all potentially affected PSAPs of 

outages in the same manner and with 

more specific information. Furthermore, 

the NPRM seeks comments on 

requirements that originating service 

providers and covered 911 service 

providers inform their customers when 

911 is unavailable to them due to 

disruptions to provider networks. These 

proposals would apply to all originating 

cable, satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP service providers 

(‘‘originating service providers’’) as well 

as to all covered 911 service providers 

and should make the nation’s 911 

service more reliable and the public 

safer, while striking an appropriate 

balance between costs and benefits of 

such regulation. The NPRM also 

proposes to codify rules adopted in 

2016 extending the exemption of 

satellite and terrestrial wireless 

providers from reporting outages 

potentially affecting special offices and 

facilities. 2016 Part 4 Order. 

B. Description and Estimate of the 

Number of Small Entities to Which the 

Proposed Rules Will Apply 

64. The RFA directs agencies to 

provide a description of and, where 

feasible, an estimate of the number of 

small entities that may be affected by 

the proposed rules, if adopted. The RFA 

generally defines the term ‘‘small 

entity’’ as having the same meaning as 

the terms ‘‘small business,’’ ‘‘small 

organization,’’ and ‘‘small governmental 

jurisdiction.’’ 5 U.S.C. 601(6). In 

addition, the term ‘‘small business’’ has 

the same meaning as the term ‘‘small 

business concern’’ under the Small 

Business Act.’’ 5 U.S.C. 601(3). A ‘‘small 

business concern’’ is one which: (1) Is 

independently owned and operated; (2) 

is not dominant in its field of operation; 

and (3) satisfies any additional criteria 

established by the SBA. 15 U.S.C. 632. 

Below is a list of such entities. 

• Interconnected VoIP services; 

• Wireline providers; 

• Wireless providers—fixed and 

mobile; 

• Satellite Service Providers; and 

• Cable Service Providers. 

C. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements for Small Entities 

65. The NPRM primarily proposes 

revisions to PSAP outage notification 

requirements that may impose new or 

additional reporting, recordkeeping, 

and/or other compliance requirements 

on small entities and entities of all sizes 

that provide 911 services. Specifically, 

the NPRM proposes (1) to harmonize the 

rules under which originating service 

providers and covered 911 service 

providers notify PSAPs of outages; (2) to 

require originating service providers 

and covered 911 service providers to 

provide more specific and uniform 

material information to PSAPs in outage 

notifications as defined in § 4.9(h)(6) of 

the Commission’s rules, as the 

Commission proposes to revise them; (3) 

to require originating service and 

covered 911 service providers to 

annually identify the PSAPs that they 

serve and to elicit outage contact 

information from them; (4) to require 

said providers to supply the public with 

timely notification of 911 unavailability; 

and (5) to require covered 911 service 

providers notify the Commission within 

an announced timeframe that they no 

longer provide covered 911 services to 

PSAPs. The NPRM also proposes the 

codification of an amendment to a rule 

that the Commission adopted in 2016. 

Specifically, the NPRM proposes to 

codify the extension of the exemption of 

satellite and terrestrial wireless 

providers from reporting outages 

potentially affecting special offices and 

facilities. 2016 Part 4 Order. 

66. The Commission is not currently 

in a position to determine whether, if 

adopted, the proposed rules in the 

NPRM will require small entities to hire 

attorneys, engineers, consultants, or 

other professionals. The Commission 

notes, however, that service providers 

already perform measures that 

contribute to their ability to comply 

with these requirements, and thus 

would likely ease the burden of 

compliance with these proposals, if 

adopted. For example, some service 

providers may already offer PSAPs 

follow-up notifications if additional 

material information becomes available. 

In addition, many service providers are 

likely to already have documented 

procedures for notifying PSAPs of 

outages that potentially affect them, and 

for those that do not, Alliance for 

Telecommunications Industry Solutions 

(ATIS) Network Reliability Steering 

Committee (NRSC) Task Force 

documents can serve as a useful guide. 

Furthermore, many service providers 

already regularly elicit PSAP outage 

contact information. 

67. As discussed in the NPRM, the 

Commission estimates the timeframe 

and incremental cost for originating 

service providers to notify potentially 

affected PSAPs about 911 outages 

within the same timeframe, by the same 

means, and with the same frequency 

that covered 911 service providers 

would be 30 minutes at a rate of $34 per 

hour per notification (initial and followup) per outage. The actual cost that 

originating service providers would 

incur to comply with this requirement 

may be substantially lower than the 

Commission’s estimate because, among 

other things, some originating service 

providers service providers may have 

automated their PSAP outage 

notification processes. Similarly, the 

Commission estimates the one-time cost 

for originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers to report 

the same specific, actionable content in 

their PSAP outage notifications as 

requiring 60 minutes at a one-time cost 

of $34 per hour per provider. This 

activity would allow a provider to 

incorporate additional informational 

elements into their existing mechanisms 

for gathering, approving, and 

transmitting information about 911 

outages to PSAPs. Likewise, the 

Commission anticipates the actual cost 

that originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers would 

incur to comply with this proposal, if 

adopted, may be substantially lower 

than the Commission’s estimate because 

the estimated number of service 

providers that would be required to 

comply is conservatively broad. In the 

NPRM, the Commission considers 

whether originating and covered 911 

service providers also should offer 

PSAPs graphical interface data 

describing the geographic area 

potentially affected by outages. In 

addition, the Commission considers 

whether to require originating and 

covered 911 service providers to notify 

PSAPs of outages that do not meet the 

Commission’s reporting thresholds but 

could potentially affect 911 service. The 

Commission anticipates that the record 

will reflect variation in geographical 

interface capabilities and proposed 

PSAP notification thresholds, and thus 

anticipate that the estimated costs to 

service providers will also vary. 

68. In the NPRM, the Commission 

also discusses the timeframe and costs 

for originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers to 

develop and implement procedures for 

gathering, maintaining, and updating 

PSAP contact information. The 

Commission estimates that the cost for 

originating service providers and 

covered 911 service providers to 

maintain up-to-date contact information 

for PSAPs in areas they serve would 

take 30 minutes with a one-time cost of 

$34 per hour per provider to develop a 

mechanism to elicit PSAP contact 


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34692 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 30, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

information. Working internally and 

with other network operators to identify 

PSAPs that could potentially be affected 

by an outage would take an estimated 

120 minutes with an annual recurring 

rate of $34 per hour per provider. 

Likewise, eliciting the appropriate 

contact information for outage 

notification using the service provider’s 

chosen PSAP contact information 

collection mechanism would take an 

estimated 120 minutes with an annual 

recurring cost of $34 per provider. 

Compliance with this proposed 

requirement may be substantially lower 

than the Commission’s estimates 

because the Commission’s rules already 

require these service providers to notify 

PSAPs of 911 outages and, as such, they 

should already have accurate PSAP 

outage contact information. As 

discussed in the NPRM, standard 

operating procedures for updating PSAP 

contact information in a centralized 

PSAP contact database was approved by 

the NRSC Task Force in November 

2019. To the extent that service 

providers already have up to date PSAP 

contact information, the Commission 

does not anticipate that compliance 

with this proposed requirement would 

impose any incremental costs. 

69. The estimated costs for service 

providers to notify their customers 

about 911 outages by providing material 

information on their websites consist of 

a one-time cost of $778 per provider to 

implement a website-based outage 

notification framework and an annually 

recurring expected cost of $1,005 per 

provider to notify customers of outages 

that materially affect 911 using that 

framework. The one-time cost consists 

of the sum of a web developer’s hourly 

rate ($60) multiplied by 10 hours to set 

up an outage notification framework 

and a general and operations manager’s 

hourly rate ($89) multiplied by 2 hours 

for project oversight. In calculating the 

one-time cost, the Commission is aware 

that certain nationwide or large regional 

service providers may have more 

sophisticated websites with multiple 

brands that would require more time to 

implement an outage notification 

framework. The Commission also notes 

however that most of these providers 

will have already implemented a 

notification framework for other alerts 

and important announcements that 

would reduce website development 

costs. 

70. Small entities are also likely to 

already have an alert notification 

framework in place and would likewise 

have lower costs than estimated herein. 

Similarly, the Commission believes that 

small entities’ annual recurring costs to 

notify customers of outages that 

materially affect 911 will likely be less 

than the Commission’s estimates since 

affected service providers need only 

report outages that materially affect 911. 

Additionally, small entities will also 

incur lower costs where the hourly rates 

for web developers, and general and 

operations managers are lower than 

those used in Commission estimates. In 

the NPRM, the Commission seeks 

comments on its estimates and on 

alternative affordable methods of public 

notification that balance the needs of 

the public to know whether dialing 9– 

1–1 will reach emergency services with 

the Commission’s commitment to 

preserving public confidence in 911. 

71. Based on the above discussion, the 

Commission does not believe that the 

costs and/or administrative burdens 

associated with any of the proposal rule 

changes will unduly burden small 

entities. Furthermore, the Commission 

believes the value of the public safety 

benefits generated by the Commission’s 

PSAP notification proposals outweigh 

the estimated costs. The Commission 

anticipates that the proposed rule 

changes will enable PSAPs to accelerate 

the public’s ability to reach 911 call 

takers during an outage, reducing the 

probability of lives lost during any such 

outage. The Commission also believes 

that these proposals could generate an 

additional, incremental benefit by 

helping people reach 911 call takers 

more quickly and by reducing first 

responder response times. 

72. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to 

the extent that service providers do not 

already elicit and refresh contact 

information for individuals designated 

by the PSAP to receive outage 

notifications, the Commission seeks to 

allow sufficient time for them to 

develop procedures for doing so, 

including, for example, by developing 

an email survey to transmit to their the 

best-known PSAP email address(es) or a 

secure web portal. In the discussion of 

the proposals in the NPRM, the 

Commission has also sought comments 

from the parties in the proceeding and 

requested cost and benefit information 

which may help the Commission 

identify and evaluate relevant matters 

for small entities. 

D. Steps Taken To Minimize the 

Significant Economic Impact on Small 

Entities and Significant Alternatives 

Considered 

73. The RFA requires an agency to 

describe any significant, specifically 

small business, alternatives that it has 

considered in reaching its proposed 

approach, which may include the 

following four alternatives (among 

others): (1) The establishment of 

differing compliance or reporting 

requirements or timetables that take into 

account the resources available to small 

entities; (2) the clarification, 

consolidation, or simplification of 

compliance and reporting requirements 

under the rule for such small entities; 

(3) the use of performance rather than 

design standards; and (4) an exemption 

from coverage of the rule, or any part 

thereof, for such small entities. 5 U.S.C. 

603(c)(1) through (4). 

74. In the NPRM, the Commission 

continues to facilitate the reliability of 

the 911 system and meet its public 

safety obligations for oversight of the 

integrity of the 911 communications 

infrastructure by proposing measures to 

ensure that PSAPs can expect consistent 

and timely outage notifications 

whenever there is an outage that 

potentially affects 911 service. While 

doing so, the Commission is mindful 

that small entities and other 911 service 

providers may incur costs should the 

proposals the Commission makes, and 

the alternatives upon which the 

Commission seeks comment in the 

NPRM, be adopted. 

75. The Commission has taken several 

steps that could reduce the economic 

impact for small entities. First, the 

elements for the proposed PSAP outage 

notifications largely track the NRSC 

Task Force’s template. Therefore, to the 

extent small entities have or will 

implement the ATIS NRSC Task Force’s 

template, compliance with these 

proposals should not impose significant 

additional costs. Next, the Commission 

proposes an approach that establishes a 

baseline expectation of shared 

information while otherwise preserving 

flexibility for service providers to 

determine the means by which they 

present this information to PSAPs and 

seek comment on the cost this flexible 

approach. Similarly, the Commission 

does not specify the particular 

procedures that service providers must 

develop or follow to elicit PSAP contact 

information. The Commission seeks 

comment on the costs and benefit of 

implementing and maintaining these 

procedures. 

76. To increase public awareness of 

911 availability and to help protect the 

public’s safety when 911 services are 

disrupted, the Commission proposes to 

require service providers to notify their 

customers of 911 outages at the request 

of affected PSAPs within 60 minutes of 

determining there is an outage by 

prominently posting notification of 

material information on the main page 

of their websites and internet-related 

applications. While the Commission 

recognizes that other alternatives such 

as text messages, email messages, and 


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phone calls, can all provide near-realtime methods to update the public on 

how best to reach emergency services, 

the Commission believes requiring 

posting of notification via websites and 

internet-related applications will 

minimize the potential for consumer 

confusion and alerting fatigue and is 

therefore in the public interest. The 

Commission also believes this means of 

communication will not be a very 

resource intensive or costly method for 

small entities and other service 

providers to provide notice to its 

customers as compared to for example, 

text messages which are not deliverable 

to traditional wireline numbers, and 

email addresses which service providers 

may not have for their customers. The 

Commission seeks comment in the 

NPRM on this approach and requiring 

other methods of notification. 

77. To strike an appropriate balance 

between maintaining 911 network 

reliability and public awareness of 911 

unavailability as well as associated 

paperwork burdens, the Commission 

seeks comment on whether it should 

change the frequency with which 

covered 911 service providers are 

required to file 911 reliability 

certifications. The Commission also 

seeks comment on any steps that it has 

not already proposed that it can take to 

prevent the costs of these proposals 

from becoming unduly burdensome for 

small and medium-sized businesses. 

Specifically, the NPRM seeks comment 

on whether it would serve the public 

interest to allow additional time for 

small and medium-sized businesses to 

comply with the requirements the 

Commission proposes in this document. 

78. In response to the Commission’s 

request for comments in the NPRM, the 

Commission invites parties to propose 

alternatives to the extent that these 

proposals will impose new obligations 

on small entities. Specifically, the 

Commission would like to see 

comments address whether small 

entities would benefit from different 

reporting requirements or timetables 

that take into account their limited 

resources; simplification or 

consolidation of reporting requirements 

for small entities; or an exemption from 

a requirement. the Commission invites 

commenters to (1) identify which 

proposed requirements are particularly 

difficult or costly for small entities and 

how different, simplified, or 

consolidated requirements would 

address those difficulties, and (2) if any 

modifications or exemptions from 

requirements are sought, discuss what 

would be the effect on public safety and 

the reliability of 911 operations. 

79. The Commission expects to 

consider more fully the economic 

impact on small entities following its 

review of comments filed in response to 

the NPRM, including the costs and 

benefits information. The Commission’s 

evaluation of the comments filed in this 

proceeding will shape the final 

alternatives it considers, the final 

conclusions it reaches, and any final 

actions it ultimately takes in this 

proceeding to minimize any significant 

economic impact that may occur on 

small entities. 

E. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, 

Overlap, or Conflict With the Proposed 

Rules 

80. None. 

F. Legal Basis 

The proposed action is authorized 

pursuant sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 4(o), 

201(b), 214(d), 218, 251(e)(3), 301, 

303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 307, 309(a), 316, 

332, 403, 615a–1, and 615c of the 

Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j) 

154(o), 201(b), 214(d), 218, 251(e)(3), 

301, 303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 307, 309(a), 

316, 332, 403, 615a–1, and 615c. 

List of Subjects 

47 CFR Part 4 

Airports, Communications common 

carriers, Communications equipment, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Telecommunications. 

47 CFR Part 9 

Communications, Communications 

common carriers, Communications 

equipment, Internet, Radio, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, 

Satellites, Security measures, 

Telecommunications, Telephone. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary. 

Proposed Rules 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR 

parts 4 and 9 as follows: 

PART 4—DISRUPTIONS TO 

COMMUNICATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 34–39, 151, 154, 155, 

157, 201, 251, 307, 316, 615a–1, 1302(a), and 

1302(b); 5 U.S.C. 301, and Executive Order 

no. 10530. 

■ 2. In § 4.9: 

■ a. Revise paragraph (a)(4); 

■ b. Add the word ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

paragraph (c)(2)(ii); 

■ c. Remove paragraph (c)(2)(iii); 

■ d. Redesignate paragraph (c)(2)(iv) as 

paragraph (c)(2)(iii) and revise newly 

redesignated paragraph (c)(2)(iii); 

■ e. Add the word ‘‘or’’ at the end of 

paragraph (e)(1)(iii); 

■ f. Remove paragraph (e)(1)(iv); 

■ g. Redesignate paragraph (e)(1)(v) as 

paragraph (e)(1)(iv) and revise newly 

redesignated paragraph (e)(1)(iv); and 

■ h. Revise paragraphs (f)(4), (g)(1)(i), 

and (h). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 4.9 Outage reporting requirements— 

threshold criteria. 

(a) * * * 

(4) Potentially affects a 911 special 

facility (as defined in § 4.5(e)), in which 

case they also shall notify the affected 

911 facility in the manner described in 

paragraph (h) of this section. Not later 

than 72 hours after discovering the 

outage, the provider shall submit 

electronically an Initial 

Communications Outage Report to the 

Commission. Not later than 30 days 

after discovering the outage, the 

provider shall submit electronically a 

Final Communications Outage Report to 

the Commission. The Notification and 

the Initial and Final reports shall 

comply with all of the requirements of 

§ 4.11. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) Potentially affecting a 911 special 

facility (as defined in § 4.5(e)) the 

affected 911 facility in the manner 

described in paragraph (h) of this 

section. 

* * * * * 

(e)(1) * * * 

(iv) That potentially affects a 911 

special facility (as defined in § 4.5(e)), in 

which case they also shall notify the 

affected 911 facility in the manner 

described in paragraph (h) of this 

section. 

* * * * * 

(f) * * * 

(4) Potentially affects a 911 special 

facility (as defined in § 4.5(e)), in which 

case they also shall notify-the affected 

911 facility in the manner described in 

paragraph (h) of this section. Not later 

than 72 hours after discovering the 

outage, the provider shall submit 

electronically an Initial 

Communications Outage Report to the 

Commission. Not later than 30 days 

after discovering the outage, the 

provider shall submit electronically a 

Final Communications Outage Report to 

the Commission. The Notification and 

the Initial and Final reports shall 

comply with all of the requirements of 

§ 4.11. 


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34694 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 30, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

(g) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) Within 240 minutes of discovering 

that they have experienced on any 

facilities that they own, operate, lease, 

or otherwise utilize, an outage of at least 

30 minutes duration that potentially 

affects a 911 special facility (as defined 

in § 4.5(e)), in which case they also shall 

notify the affected 911 facility in the 

manner described in paragraph (h) of 

this section; or 

* * * * * 

(h) 911 Special facility outage 

notification. All cable, satellite, 

wireless, wireline, interconnected VoIP, 

and covered 911 service providers (as 

defined in 47 CFR 9.19(a)(4)) shall 

notify a 911 special facility any official 

who has been designated by the affected 

911 special facility as the provider’s 

contact person(s) for communications 

outages at the facility of any outage that 

potentially affects that 911 special 

facility (as defined in § 4.5(e)) in the 

following manner. 

(1) Appropriate contact information. 

Cable, satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, and covered 911 

service providers shall annually identify 

and maintain up-to-date contact 

information appropriate for 911 outage 

notification for each 911 special facility 

that serves areas that the service 

providers serve. 

(2) Timing of notification. Cable, 

satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, and covered 911 

service providers shall provide a 911 

outage notification to a potentially 

affected 911 special facility as soon as 

possible, but no later than within 30 

minutes of discovering that they have 

experienced on any facilities that they 

own, operate, lease, or otherwise utilize, 

an outage that potentially affects a 911 

special facility, as defined in § 4.5(e). 

(3) Means of notification. Cable, 

satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, and covered 911 

service providers’ 911 outage 

notifications must be transmitted by 

telephone and in writing via electronic 

means in the absence of another method 

mutually agreed upon in advance by the 

911 special facility and the covered 911 

service provider. 

(4) Content of notification. Cable, 

satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, and covered 911 

service providers’ 911 outage 

notifications must convey all available 

material information about the outage. 

For the purpose of this paragraph (h), 

‘‘material information’’ includes the 

following, where available: 

(i) The name of the cable, satellite, 

wireless, wireline, interconnected VoIP, 

or covered 911 service provider offering 

the notification; 

(ii) The name of the cable, satellite, 

wireless, wireline, interconnected VoIP, 

or covered 911 service provider(s) 

experiencing the outage; 

(iii) The date and time when the 

incident began (including a notation of 

the relevant time zone); 

(iv) The types of communications 

service(s) affected; 

(v) Geographic area affected by the 

outage; 

(vi) A statement of the notifying cable, 

satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, or covered 911 

service provider’s expectations for how 

the outage may affect the 911 special 

facility (e.g., dropped calls or missing 

metadata); 

(vii) Expected date and time of 

restoration, including a notation of the 

relevant time zone; 

(viii) The best-known cause of the 

outage; 

(ix) A name, telephone number, and 

email address at which the notifying 

cable, satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, or covered 911 

service provider can be reached for 

follow-up; and 

(x) A statement of whether the 

message is the notifying cable, satellite, 

wireless, wireline, interconnected VoIP, 

or covered 911 service provider’s initial 

notification to the 911 special facility, 

an update to an initial notification, or a 

message intended to be the service 

provider’s final assessment of the 

outage. 

(5) Follow-up notification. Cable, 

satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, and covered 911 

service providers shall communicate 

additional material information to 

potentially affected 911 special facilities 

in notifications subsequent to the initial 

notification as that information becomes 

available, but cable, satellite, wireless, 

wireline and interconnected VoIP 

providers shall send the first follow-up 

notification to potentially affected 911 

special facilities no later than two hours 

after the initial contact. 

■ 3. Add § 4.10 to read as follows: 

§ 4.10 Public notification of 911 outages. 

(a) Notification breadth. All cable, 

satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, and covered 911 

service providers (as defined in 47 CFR 

9.19(a)(4)) shall notify potentially 

affected customers of 911 unavailability 

(as defined in paragraph (b) of this 

section). 

(b) Notification threshold. For the 

purposes of this section, 911 

unavailability shall be defined as the 

continuous or intermittent inability of a 

customer to reach emergency services 

by dialing or texting 9–1–1 due to an 

outage that potentially affects a 911 

special facility as defined by § 4.5(e)(1). 

(c) Notification timing and frequency. 

(1) Cable, satellite, wireless, wireline, 

interconnected VoIP, and covered 911 

service provider shall contact the 

PSAP(s) affected by 911 unavailability 

(as defined in paragraph (b) of this 

section) as soon as possible after 

discovery of an outage but no later than 

30 minutes after discovery to determine 

what, if any, alternative means of 

contact the PSAP would like made 

publicly available for the duration of the 

incident. (2) Cable, satellite, wireless, 

wireline, interconnected VoIP, and 

covered 911 service provider with 

customers experiencing 911 

unavailability (as defined in paragraph 

(b) of this section) shall provide 

notification to potentially affected 

customers as soon as possible, but no 

later than within 60 minutes of 

discovering that 911 is unavailable. The 

provider shall provide any subsequent 

material updates regarding the 

estimated time of 911 restoration to its 

potentially affected customers as soon 

as possible. 

(d) Notification content. Notifications 

of 911 unavailability shall include: 

(1) A statement that there is an outage 

affecting 911 availability; 

(2) Alternative contact information to 

reach emergency services at the request 

of the affected PSAP(s), should such 

information be available; 

(3) The time 911 service became 

unavailable; 

(4) The time the affected service 

provider estimates that 911 service will 

become available; and 

(5) The locations where customers are 

or are expected to be experiencing 911 

unavailability. 

(e) Notification medium. Each 

affected cable, satellite, wireless, 

wireline, interconnected VoIP, and 

covered 911 service providers (as 

defined in 47 CFR 9.19(a)(4)) shall 

prominently post the notification of 911 

unavailability on the main page of its 

website and on any internet- or webbased applications. 

PART 9—911 REQUIREMENTS 

■ 4. The authority citation for part 9 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151–154, 152(a), 

155(c), 157, 160, 201, 202, 208, 210, 214, 218, 

219, 222, 225, 251(e), 255, 301, 302, 303, 307, 

308, 309, 310, 316, 319, 332, 403, 405, 605, 

610, 615, 615 note, 615a, 615b, 615c, 615a– 

1, 616, 620, 621, 623, 623 note, 721, and 

1471, unless otherwise noted. 

■ 5. In § 9.19, revise paragraph 

(a)(4)(i)(B) to read as follows: 


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§ 9.19 Reliability of covered 911 service 

providers. 

(a) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(B) Operates one or more central 

offices that directly serve a PSAP. For 

purposes of this section, a central office 

directly serves a PSAP if it hosts a 

selective router or ALI/ANI database, 

provides equivalent NG911 capabilities, 

or is the last service-provider facility 

through which a 911 trunk or 

administrative line (i.e., a business line 

or line group that connects to a PSAP 

but is not used as the default or primary 

route over which 911 calls are 

transmitted to the PSAP) passes before 

connecting to a PSAP. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2021–13974 Filed 6–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 73 

[MB Docket No. 21–248; RM–11910; DA 21– 

694; FR ID 34410] 

Television Broadcasting Services 

Staunton, Virginia 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Commission has before it 

a petition for rulemaking filed by VPM 

Media Corporation (Petitioner), the 

licensee of noncommercial educational 

television station WVPT (PBS), channel 

*11, Staunton, Virginia. The Petitioner 

requests the substitution of channel *15 

for channel *11 at Staunton in the DTV 

Table of Allotments. 

DATES: Comments must be filed on or 

before July 30, 2021 and reply 

comments on or before August 16, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications 

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 45 

L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. In 

addition to filing comments with the 

FCC, interested parties should serve 

counsel for the Petitioner as follows: Ari 

Meltzer, Esq., Wiley Rein LLP, 1776 K 

Street NW, Washington, DC 20006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joyce Bernstein, Media Bureau, at (202) 

418–1647; or at Joyce.Bernstein@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In support 

of its channel substitution request, the 

Petitioner states that the proposed 

channel substitution would resolve 

significant over the air reception 

problems in the WVPT service area. The 

Petitioner states that the challenges of 

digital reception are well-documented, 

and that the Commission has recognized 

the deleterious effects of manmade 

noise on the reception of digital VHF 

signals. The Petitioner also believes that 

the channel substitution will allow for 

more efficient construction of WVPT’s 

post-incentive auction facilities. The 

Petitioner explains that it initially 

planned to retune WVPT’s existing 

Distributed Transmission System (DTS) 

transmitters from channel *11 to 

channel *12, its repacked channel. The 

transmitter and antenna manufacturers, 

however, were unable to support the 

planned retuning effort. Meanwhile, a 

structural analysis of WVPT’s existing 

tower revealed that it could not support 

a replacement antenna for VHF channel 

12. According to the Petitioner, the 

tower can support a lighter weight UHF 

antenna, and thus, allowing WVPT to 

move to channel *15 will obviate the 

need to construct a new tower, saving 

both time and money. It further states 

that the proposed channel *15 facility 

will result in a net gain of 56,814 

people, and while there is a loss area of 

27,033 people, only seven people would 

lose their only PBS noncommercial 

educational service, a number the 

Commission considers de minimis. 

This is a synopsis of the 

Commission’s Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 21–248; 

RM–11910; DA 21–694, adopted June 

15, 2021, and released June 15, 2021. 

The full text of this document is 

available for download at https://

www.fcc.gov/edocs. To request materials 

in accessible formats (braille, large 

print, computer diskettes, or audio 

recordings), please send an email to 

FCC504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & 

Government Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (VOICE), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

This document does not contain 

information collection requirements 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995, Public Law 104–13. In addition, 

therefore, it does not contain any 

proposed information collection burden 

‘‘for small business concerns with fewer 

than 25 employees,’’ pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4). Provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601– 

612, do not apply to this proceeding. 

Members of the public should note 

that all ex parte contacts are prohibited 

from the time a Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking is issued to the time the 

matter is no longer subject to 

Commission consideration or court 

review, see 47 CFR 1.1208. There are, 

however, exceptions to this prohibition, 

which can be found in § 1.1204(a) of the 

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.1204(a). 

See §§ 1.415 and 1.420 of the 

Commission’s rules for information 

regarding the proper filing procedures 

for comments, 47 CFR 1.415 and 1.420. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73 

Television. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Thomas Horan, 

Chief of Staff, Media Bureau. 

Proposed Rule 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR 

part 73 as follows: 

PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST 

SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 73 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 155, 301, 303, 

307, 309, 310, 334, 336, 339. 

■ 2. In § 73.622(i), amend the PostTransition Table of DTV Allotments 

under Virginia by revising the entry for 

Staunton to read as follows: 

§ 73.622 Digital television table of 

allotments. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 

Community Channel No. 

* * * * * 

Virginia 

* * * * * 

Staunton ............................... * 15 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2021–13564 Filed 6–29–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–R1–ES–2020–0060; 

FF09E22000 FXES11130900000 201] 

RIN 1018–BE72 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Removing Golden 

Paintbrush From the Federal List of 

Endangered and Threatened Plants 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 


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