On July 18, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) adopted a Report and Order at its July 2024 Open Commission Meeting intended to facilitate a nationwide transition to Next Generation 911 (NG911) emergency...more
On July 18, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order (Order) to facilitate the transition from a traditional circuit-switched 911 system to an Internet Protocol (IP)-based system. An...more
On January 6, 2021, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) location requirements go into effect for fixed multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) and interconnected VoIP services, which now include outbound-only VoIP...more
On December 3, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) announced compliance dates for the new E911 requirements for multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) adopted in the FCC’s 2019 Report and Order...more
Upcoming Filing and Comment Deadlines - FCC Seeks Input on WRC-23 Advisory Committee Draft Recommendations: Comments are due November 2 on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) Public Notice, which...more
Jan. 6, 2021, is the deadline to begin automatically sending location information along with 911 calls made from fixed phone lines in hotels, apartment complexes, offices or other businesses locations. ...more
Kari’s Law, signed into law on February 16, 2018, requires organizations that use multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) to provide callers with the ability to dial 911 directly from any telephone in the system. MLTS are often...more
Typically used in offices, hotels, hospitals, etc., to provide multiple phone lines within one building, multi-line telephone systems (“MLTS”) are the subject of two new federal laws: (1) Kari’s Law and (2) the Ray Baum Act. ...more
On August 2, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) released a Report and Order on 911 calling capability requirements that affect virtually anyone in the enterprise calling platform ecosystem,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The FCC has proposed new rules that would require employers to have compliant phones systems for 911 direct dialing....more
Please be reminded of the upcoming due date for the FCC filing requirement listed below: Annual 911 Reliability Certification - Providers of 911, E911, or NG911 capabilities in the United States must file an annual...more
In February 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law two statutes intended to improve emergency calling. These laws take effect February 16, 2020, and may require changes to company telephone systems to allow employees...more
At its August Open Meeting, the FCC adopted a Report and Order (“Order”) implementing portions of two recent statutes—Kari’s Law and the RAY BAUM’s Act—that address ensuring greater access to 911 and emergency services for...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New state and federal laws and rules require employers to have compliant phones systems for 911 direct dialing and E-911....more
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on proposed direct dial and notification rules governing calls to 911 made from multi-line telephone...more
The first 911 call was made 50 years ago, long before wireless phones, texting, and Internet calling were used for everyday communications. Congress and the FCC regularly propose and adopt laws and regulations to keep pace...more
At the next open meeting on September 26th, the FCC Commissioners will vote on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) aimed at improving the nation’s 911 system and Americans’ ability to access emergency services. The...more
On June 28, 2018, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau announced a Consent Decree with AT&T Mobility, LLC (“AT&T”) to resolve investigations into two 911 service outages in 2017. The outages lasted for more than five hours and...more
On Feb. 16, 2018, President Trump signed into law a requirement that multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) used by hotels, hospitals, campuses and other businesses be configured to allow persons to dial 911 from any phone on...more
Recently, H.R. Bill 582, known as “Kari’s Law” became federal law. Kari’s Law amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require most multi-line telephone systems to be pre-configured so users may call “911” without dialing any...more
The FCC is assessing whether additional federal regulations are needed to ensure that workers in office buildings or hotel guests have access to up-to-date 911 services when the business owner uses new IP communications...more
Imagine dialing 911 and hearing an automated voice tell you that what you have dialed is not a valid number; or reaching a 911 call center only to have emergency personnel dispatched to the wrong location. In response to such...more
Annual 911 Reliability Certification - Providers of 911, E911, or NG911 capabilities in the United States must file with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), by October 16, 2017,* an annual certification of the...more
The FCC intends to launch a new proceeding to examine issues related to 911 capabilities of enterprise-based 911 services provided over multi-line telephone systems (MLTS) and IP-based systems (collectively referred to as...more
On July 12, 2017, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (“Bureau”) of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued a Public Notice encouraging communications service providers to implement certain “best...more