i_911tf_2016a_2016-10-11t09:12:18z1 Hearing Summary

Date: 10/11/2016

09:14 AM -- Federal 911 Efforts



Rear Admiral (Ret.) David Simpson, Bureau Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), testified remotely regarding federal 911 efforts. He discussed next generation 911 (NextGen 911) federal endeavors. He noted the interplay between NextGen 911 and FirstNet. He discussed the interplay and cooperative efforts between federal departments and local 911 authorities. He noted that 911 is primarily a local service, but requires local, state, and federal coordination. He highlighted the cybersecurity threat to NextGen 911 and the FCC's multi-jurisdictional approach. He noted that how citizens today approach and use technology is changing rapidly and that 911 services need to adapt to this new IP-based technology.



09:31 AM



Rear Admiral Simpson continued by discussing the FCC's oversight and responsibilities during outages. He noted that FCC rules do not cover the 911 system end-to-end. He noted that the FCC is working to share more information with local and state jurisdictions on outages. He also highlighted the FCC's role in working with service providers and discussed cybersecurity-related outages. In response to further committee questions, he discussed the costs and savings with with NextGen 911. He noted that the FCC believes that it has jurisdiction over VoIP and wireless outages, but stated there was a role for state regulation as well. In a response to a committee question regarding cybersecurity, he stated that as communications moves towards IP-based technology, more public safety communications are susceptible to cybersecurity threats.



09:48 AM



Rear Admiral Simpson continued by answering committee questions regarding the transition to NextGen 911. He stated that the committee should engage experts in Colorado and that the committee should consider a more formal 911 oversight system structure, such as a 911 board or administrator. In response to a committee question, he discussed the FCC's involvement in innovative funding for NextGen 911 and discussed the federal government's funding of FirstNet. He continued by discussing the interplay between 911 outage reporting to the FCC and the FCC's interaction with states. He noted that while FCC reporting obligations ensure national providers provide outage information to a regulatory body, the FCC is working on possibly sharing outage information with states. He stated that the FCC tries to balance the need to understand outage trends and the ability to preserve provider confidential information, while also ensuring rapid reporting to consumer. The FCC continues to work on providing current, timely and relevant information to local authorities regarding outages without exposing confidential provider information.



10:04 AM



David Furth, Deputy Chief, Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at the FCC, provided remote testimony to answer a committee question regarding outage reporting requirements. Rear Admiral Simpson continued by discussing how other states respond to outages. He discussed what the FCC does with reported outage data and the interplay with homeland security. He noted that carriers report to the FCC outages that impact 900,000 user minutes and last longer than 30 minutes. Admiral Simpson noted the particular challenges facing rural counties. He stated that the FCC is exploring whether to require an additional trigger under the rules, such as a geographic threshold, along with user minutes and down time thresholds.