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To improve 9-1-1 the US Federal Communications Commission requires outage reporting from interconnected VoIP
New reporting requirement will help provide reliable phone service to 9-1-1 for all voice calls, says the FCC.
The FCC took action to make the nation’s 9-1-1 systems more reliable and resilient by requiring interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers to report significant network outages that meet specific criteria and thresholds.
The new rules will help ensure that the country’s critical communications infrastructure remains available in times of crisis. The FCC will use outage reports to track and analyze information on interconnected VoIP outages affecting 9-1-1 service and determine if action is needed to prevent future outages.
Interconnected VoIP services have become increasingly popular in recent years, and the number of consumers using these services in lieu of traditional telephone service is growing steadily. According to the FCC’s most recent Local Competition Report, almost one-third of the more than 87 million residential telephone subscriptions are now provided as interconnected VoIP service.
This means that interconnected VoIP platforms are carrying a substantial volume of 9-1-1 calls. The FCC’s current outage reporting rules, which have been in place since 2004, cover voice services provided over wired and wireless platforms, but not interconnected VoIP.
FCC’s action means that interconnected VoIP service providers will be obligated to report significant service outages to the FCC.
All 9-1-1 voice calls will be covered. The FCC’s Report and Order defines outage reporting for interconnected VoIP service, establishes reporting criteria and thresholds, and discusses how the reporting process should work, what information should be reported, and confidential treatment of the outage reports.
The FCC deferred action on a number of questions, including the possibility of setting thresholds for reporting outages of broadband Internet service, and measurements for outages of both interconnected VoIP and broadband Internet services based on performance degradation, as opposed to complete service outage.
