IIB
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 438
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 25, 1999
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation
AN ACT
To promote and enhance public safety through use of 911
as the universal emergency assistance number, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wireless Communica-
tions and Public Safety Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the establishment and maintenance of an
end-to-end emergency communications infrastructure
among members of the public, local public safety,
fire service, and law enforcement officials, emergency
dispatch providers, and hospital emergency and
trauma care facilities will reduce response times for
the delivery of emergency care, assist in delivering
appropriate care, and thereby prevent fatalities, sub-
stantially reduce the severity and extent of injuries,
reduce time lost from work, and save thousands of
lives and billions of dollars in health care costs;
(2) the rapid, efficient deployment of emergency
telecommunications service requires statewide coordi-
nation of the efforts of local public safety, fire serv-
ice, and law enforcement officials, and emergency
dispatch providers, and the designation of 911 as
the number to call in emergencies throughout the
Nation;
(3) improved public safety remains an impor-
tant public health objective of Federal, State, and
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local governments and substantially facilitates inter-
state and foreign commerce;
(4) the benefits of wireless communications in
emergencies will be enhanced by the development of
state-wide plans to coordinate the efforts of local
public safety, fire service, and law enforcement offi-
cials, emergency dispatch providers, emergency med-
ical service providers on end-to-end emergency com-
munications infrastructures; and
(5) the construction and operation of seamless,
ubiquitous, and reliable wireless telecommunications
systems promote public safety and provide imme-
diate and critical communications links among mem-
bers of the public, emergency medical service provid-
ers and emergency dispatch providers, public safety,
fire service and law enforcement officials, and hos-
pital emergency and trauma care facilities.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to encour-
age and facilitate the prompt deployment throughout the
United States of a seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable end-
to-end infrastructure for communications, including wire-
less communications, to meet the Nation’s public safety
and other communications needs.
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SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIVERSAL SERVICE EMER-
GENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER.—Section 251(e) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 251(e)) is
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(3) 
UNIVERSAL
EMERGENCY
TELEPHONE
NUMBER.—The Commission and any agency or en-
tity to which the Commission has delegated author-
ity under this subsection shall designate 911 as the
universal emergency telephone number within the
United States for reporting an emergency to appro-
priate authorities and requesting assistance. Such
designation shall apply to both wireline and wireless
telephone service. In making such designation, the
Commission (and any such agency or entity) shall
provide appropriate transition periods for areas in
which 911 is not in use as an emergency telephone
number on the date of the enactment of the Wireless
Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—The Federal Commu-
nications Commission shall provide technical support to
States to support and encourage the development of state-
wide plans for the deployment and functioning of a com-
prehensive end-to-end emergency communications infra-
structure, including enhanced wireless 911 service, on a
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coordinated statewide basis. In supporting and encourag-
ing such deployment and functioning, the Commission
shall consult and cooperate with State and local officials
responsible for emergency services and public safety, the
telecommunications industry (specifically including the
cellular and other wireless telecommunications service pro-
viders), the motor vehicle manufacturing industry, emer-
gency medical service providers and emergency dispatch
providers, special 911 districts, public safety, fire service
and law enforcement officials, consumer groups, and hos-
pital emergency and trauma care personnel (including
emergency physicians, trauma surgeons, and nurses).
SEC. 4. PARITY OF PROTECTION FOR PROVISION OR USE
OF WIRELESS SERVICE.
(a) PROVIDER PARITY.—A wireless carrier, and its
officers, directors, employees, vendors, and agents, shall
have immunity or other protection from liability of a scope
and extent that is not less than the scope and extent of
immunity or other protection from liability in a particular
jurisdiction that a local exchange company, and its offi-
cers, directors, employees, vendors, or agents, have under
Federal and State law applicable in such jurisdiction with
respect to wireline services, including in connection with
an act or omission involving—
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(1) development, design, installation, operation,
maintenance, performance, or provision of wireless
service;
(2) transmission errors, failures, network out-
ages, or other technical difficulties that may arise in
the course of transmitting or handling emergency
calls or providing emergency services (including
wireless 911 service); and
(3) release to a PSAP, emergency medical serv-
ice provider or emergency dispatch provider, public
safety, fire service or law enforcement official, or
hospital emergency or trauma care facility of sub-
scriber information related to emergency calls or
emergency services involving use of wireless services.
(b) USER PARITY.—A person using wireless 911
service shall have immunity or other protection from liabil-
ity in a particular jurisdiction of a scope and extent that
is not less than the scope and extent of immunity or other
protection from liability under Federal or State law appli-
cable in such jurisdiction in similar circumstances of a
person using 911 service that is not wireless.
(c) EXCEPTION FOR STATE LEGISLATIVE ACTION.—
The immunity or other protection from liability required
by subsection (a)(1) shall not apply in any State that,
prior to the expiration of 2 years after the date of the
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enactment of this Act, enacts a statute that specifically
refers to this section and establishes a different standard
of immunity or other protection from liability with respect
to an act or omission involving development, design, instal-
lation, operation, maintenance, performance, or provision
of wireless service (other than wireless 911 service). The
enactment of such a State statute shall not affect the im-
munity or other protection from liability required by such
subsection (a)(1) with respect to acts or omissions occur-
ring before the date of the enactment of such State stat-
ute.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER INFORMA-
TION.
Section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 222) is amended—
(1) in subsection (d)—
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para-
graph (2);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
paragraph (3) and inserting a semicolon;
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(4) to provide call location information con-
cerning the user of a commercial mobile service (as
such term is defined in section 332(d))—