110TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 428

AN ACT

To amend the Wireless Communications and Public Safety

Act of 1999, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘IP-Enabled Voice

3 Communications and Public Safety Act of 2007’’.

4 SEC. 2. DUTY TO PROVIDE 9–1–1 AND E–9–1–1 SERVICE.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Wireless Communications

6 and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615 et seq.)

7 is amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 7. IP-ENABLED VOICE SERVICE PROVIDERS.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the duty of every IP10 enabled voice service provider engaged in interstate or for11 eign communication to provide 9–1–1 service, including

12 enhanced 9–1–1 service, to its subscribers in accordance

13 with orders of the Commission in effect on the date of

14 enactment of the IP-Enabled Voice Communications and

15 Public Safety Act of 2007, as such orders may be modified

16 by the Commission from time to time.

17 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO 9–1–1 COMPONENTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—Within 90 days after the

19 date of enactment of the IP-Enabled Voice Commu20 nications and Public Safety Act of 2007, the Com21 mission shall issue regulations granting IP-enabled

22 voice service providers right of access to 9–1–1 com23 ponents that are necessary to provide 9–1–1 service,

24 on the same rates, terms, and conditions that are

25 provided to commercial mobile service providers. In

26 promulgating the regulations, the Commission shall
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1 take into account any technical, network security, or

2 information privacy issues that are specific to IP-en3 abled voice services, including the security of 9–1–

4 1 networks. The Commission shall require IP-en5 abled voice service providers to which the regulations

6 apply to register with the Commission and to estab7 lish a point of contact for public safety and govern8 ment officials relative to 9–1–1 service and access.

9 ‘‘(2) DELEGATION OF ENFORCEMENT TO STATE

10 COMMISSIONS.—The Commission may delegate au11 thority to enforce the regulations issued under para12 graph (1) to State commissions or other State agen13 cies or programs with jurisdiction over emergency

14 communications.

15 ‘‘(c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in the IP-Enabled

16 Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2007

17 shall be construed as repealing or otherwise altering,

18 modifying, affecting, or superseding Federal regulations

19 obligating an IP-enabled voice service provider to provide

20 9–1–1 service or enhanced 9–1–1 service.

21 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON COMMISSION.—Nothing in this

22 section shall be construed to permit the Commission to

23 issue regulations that require or impose a specific tech24 nology or technological standard.
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1 ‘‘(e) FCC AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE 9–1–1 SERV2 ICE.—The Commission may require any provider of a

3 voice service that is a substitute for telephone exchange

4 service (as defined in section 3(47) of the Communications

5 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(47))) to provide 9–1–1 serv6 ice, including enhanced 9–1–1 service, to its subscribers.

7 Nothing in this subsection shall limit or otherwise affect

8 the authority of the Commission under the Communica9 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).’’.

10 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 6 of the Wireless Com11 munications and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C.

12 615b) is amended by adding at the end thereof the fol13 lowing:

14 ‘‘(8) IP-ENABLED VOICE SERVICE.—The term

15 ‘IP-enabled voice service’ has the meaning given the

16 term ‘Interconnected VoIP Service’ by section 9.3 of

17 the Commission’s regulations (47 C.F.R. 9.3).

18 ‘‘(9) IP-ENABLED 9–1–1 SERVICE.—The term

19 ‘IP-enabled 9–1–1 service’ means any 9–1–1 service

20 provided by an IP-enabled voice service provider, in21 cluding enhanced IP-enabled 9–1–1 service.

22 ‘‘(10) ENHANCED IP-ENABLED 9–1–1 SERV23 ICE.—The term ‘enhanced IP-enabled 9–1–1 service’

24 means any enhanced 9–1–1 service so designated by

25 the Federal Communications Commission in its Re-
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1 port and Order in WC Docket Nos. 04–36 and 05–

2 196, or any successor proceeding.

3 ‘‘(11) 9–1–1 COMPONENT.—The term ‘9–1–1

4 component’ means any equipment, network, data5 bases (including automatic location information

6 databases and master street address guides), inter7 face, selective router, trunkline, non-dialable p8 ANI’s, or other related facility necessary for the de9 livery and completion of 9–1–1 or E–9–1–1 calls

10 and information related to such calls, as determined

11 by the Commission.’’.

12 SEC. 3. PARITY OF PROTECTION FOR PROVISION OR USE

13 OF IP-ENABLED VOICE SERVICE.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Wireless Commu15 nications and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615a)

16 is amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘carrier,’’ in subsection (a) and

18 inserting ‘‘carrier, IP-enabled voice service provider,

19 or alternative emergency communications service

20 provider,’’;

21 (2) by striking ‘‘its’’ the first place it appears

22 in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘their’’;

23 (3) by striking ‘‘emergency calls or emergency

24 services.’’ in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘emer-
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1 gency calls, emergency services, or alternative emer2 gency communications services.’’;

3 (4) by striking ‘‘service shall’’ in subsection (b)

4 and inserting ‘‘service, or IP-enabled voice service,

5 shall’’;

6 (5) by striking ‘‘wireless.’’ in subsection (b) and

7 inserting ‘‘wireless, IP-enabled, or alternative emer8 gency communications.’’;

9 (6) by striking ‘‘communications,’’ in subsection

10 (c) and inserting ‘‘communications, IP-enabled voice

11 service communications, or alternative emergency

12 communications,’’; and

13 (7) by striking ‘‘wireless.’’ in subsection (c) and

14 inserting ‘‘wireless, IP-enabled, or alternative emer15 gency communications.’’.

16 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 6 of the Wireless Com17 munications and Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C.

18 615b), as amended by section 2(b), is further amended

19 by adding at the end thereof the following:

20 ‘‘(12) ALTERNATIVE EMERGENCY COMMUNICA21 TIONS SERVICE.—The term ‘alternative emergency

22 communications service’ means the provision of

23 emergency information to a public safety answering

24 point via wire or radio communications, and may in25 clude 9–1–1 and enhanced 9–1–1 Services.
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1 ‘‘(13) ALTERNATIVE EMERGENCY COMMUNICA2 TIONS SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term ‘alternative

3 emergency communications service provider’ means

4 an entity other than a local exchange carrier, wire5 less carrier, or an IP-enabled voice service provider

6 that is required by the Commission or, in the ab7 sence of any such requirement, is specifically author8 ized by the appropriate local or State 9–1–1 gov9 erning authority, to provide alternative emergency

10 communications services.’’.

11 SEC. 4. STATE AUTHORITY OF FEES.

12 Nothing in this Act, the Communications Act of 1934

13 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), the Wireless Communications and

14 Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615a), or any Fed15 eral Communications Commission regulation or order shall

16 prevent the imposition on, or collection by, a provider of

17 IP-enabled voice services or commercial mobile service, of

18 any fee or charge specifically designated by a State, polit19 ical subdivision thereof, or Indian tribe for the support

20 of 9–1–1 or E 099–1–1 services if that fee or charge—

21 (1) for IP-enabled voice services, does not ex22 ceed the amount of any such fee or charge imposed

23 on or collected by a provider of telecommunications

24 services; and
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1 (2) is obligated or expended in support of 9–1–

2 1 and E 099–1–1 services, or enhancements of such

3 services, or other emergency communications serv4 ices as specified in the provision of State or local law

5 adopting the fee or charge.

6 SEC. 5. FEE ACCOUNTABILITY.

7 To ensure efficiency, transparency, and account8 ability in the collection and expenditure of 9–1–1 fees, the

9 Federal Communications Commission shall submit a re10 port within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act,

11 and annually thereafter, to the Senate Committee on Com12 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep13 resentatives Committee on Energy and Commerce detail14 ing the status in each State of the collection and distribu15 tion of 9–1–1 fees and include findings on the amount of

16 revenues obligated or expended by each State or political

17 subdivision thereof for any purpose other than the purpose

18 for which any fee or charges are presented.

19 SEC. 6. MIGRATION TO IP-ENABLED EMERGENCY NET20 WORK.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 158 of the National Tele22 communications and Information Administration Organi23 zation Act (47 U.S.C. 942) is amended—

24 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as

25 subsections (e) and (f), respectively;
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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(d) MIGRATION PLAN REQUIRED.—

4 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL PLAN REQUIRED.—No more

5 than 270 days after the date of the enactment of the

6 IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safe7 ty Act of 2007, the Office shall develop and report

8 to Congress on a national plan for migrating to a

9 national IP-enabled emergency network capable of

10 receiving and responding to all citizen activated

11 emergency communications and improving informa12 tion sharing among all emergency response entities.

13 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan required

14 by paragraph (1) shall—

15 ‘‘(A) outline the potential benefits of such

16 a migration;

17 ‘‘(B) identify barriers that must be over18 come and funding mechanisms to address those

19 barriers;

20 ‘‘(C) provide specific mechanisms for en21 suring the IP-enabled emergency network is

22 available in every community and is coordinated

23 on a local, regional, and Statewide basis;
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1 ‘‘(D) identify location technology for no2 madic devices and for office buildings and

3 multi-dwelling units;

4 ‘‘(E) include a proposed timetable, an out5 line of costs and potential savings;

6 ‘‘(F) provide specific legislative language,

7 if necessary, for achieving the plan;

8 ‘‘(G) provide recommendations on any leg9 islative changes, including updating definitions,

10 to facilitate a national IP-enabled emergency

11 network;

12 ‘‘(H) assess, collect, and analyze the expe13 riences of the PSAPs and related public safety

14 authorities who are conducting trial deploy15 ments of IP-enabled emergency networks as of

16 the date of enactment of the IP-Enabled Voice

17 Communications and Public Safety Act of

18 2007;

19 ‘‘(I) document solutions that a national IP20 enabled emergency network will provide for 9–

21 1–1 access to those with disabilities and needed

22 steps to implement such solutions, including a

23 recommended timeline for such implementation;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(J) analyze technologies and efforts to

2 provide automatic location capabilities and pro3 vide recommendations on needed regulatory or

4 legislative changes necessary to implement auto5 matic location solutions for 9–1–1 purposes.

6 ‘‘(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan

7 required by paragraph (1), the Office shall consult

8 with representatives of the public safety community,

9 groups representing those with disabilities, tech10 nology and telecommunications providers, and others

11 it deems appropriate.’’; and

12 (3) by striking ‘‘services.’’ in subsection (b)(1)

13 and inserting ‘‘services, and for migration to an IP14 enabled emergency network.’’.

15 (b) AVAILABILITY OF PSAP INFORMATION.—The

16 Federal Communications Commission may compile a list

17 of public safety answering point contact information, as

18 well as contact information for 9–1–1 component pro19 viders, for the purpose of assisting IP-enabled voice serv20 ice providers and others in complying with this Act and

21 section 158(d) of the National Telecommunications and

22 Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C.

23 942(d)) as amended by subsection (a), and may make any

24 portion of such information available to the public if such

25 availability would improve public safety.
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1 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.—The Federal

2 Communications Commission shall work cooperatively

3 with public safety organizations, industry participants,

4 and the E–9–1–1 Implementation Coordination Office to

5 develop best practices that promote consistency, where ap6 propriate, including procedures for—

7 (1) defining geographic coverage areas for Pub8 lic Safety Answering Points;

9 (2) defining network diversity requirements for

10 delivery of IP-enabled 9–1–1 calls;

11 (3) call-handling in the event of call overflow or

12 network outages;

13 (4) Public Safety Answering Point certification

14 and testing requirements;

15 (5) validation procedures for inputting and up16 dating location information in relevant databases;

17 and

18 (6) the format for delivering address informa19 tion to Public Safety Answering Points.

20 SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT.

21 The Federal Communications Commission shall en22 force the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act

23 of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615a) as if that Act were part of the

24 Communications Act of 1934. For purposes of this sec25 tion, any violation of the Wireless Communications and
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1 Public Safety Act of 1999 (47 U.S.C. 615a), or any regu2 lation promulgated under that Act, is deemed to be a vio3 lation of the Communications Act of 1934 or a regulation

4 promulgated under the Communications Act of 1934, re5 spectively.

6 SEC. 8. COMPLETION OF THE HATFIELD REPORT.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communica9 tions Commission shall remit all amounts promised for the

10 completion of an update to the Report on Technical and

11 Operational Issues Impacting the Provision of Wireless

12 Enhanced 9–1–1 Services by Dale N. Hatfield filed at the

13 Commission on October 15, 2002, in WT Docket No. 02–

14 46.

15 (b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Mr. Hatfield shall

16 submit his written findings as of May 1, 2006, to the Fed17 eral Communications Commission not later than 60 days

18 after receiving the payment described in subsection (a).

19 SEC. 9. 9/11 COMMISSION ACT OF 2007.

20 Section 2301 of the Implementing Recommendations

21 of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (47 U.S.C. 901 note)

22 is amended by striking ‘‘the ‘Improving Emergency Com-
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1 munications Act of 2007’.’’ and inserting ‘‘the ‘911 Mod2 ernization Act’.’’.

Passed the Senate February 26, 2008.

Attest:

Secretary.
110TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 428

AN ACT

To amend the Wireless Communications and Public

Safety Act of 1999, and for other purposes.