[Asterisk-biz] FW: 911 Legislation

[Jason P. Talley]

I have been watching with great interest the discussions concerning 911
legislation in various states.  While I normally don't respond to
messages on this list, I feel that the topic warrants some serious
discussion.  Nuvio is a wholesale VoIP provider and we currently have
local numbers in around 4500 cities across the US.  As such, we are a
fairly high profile target for states (since we serve all but 2)  While
we are starting to deploy some limited E-911 solutions across some of
markets (approximately 1/3) the issue of VoIP and legislation is one
that we, and personally myself, tackle constantly.  We are a heavy
participant in the FCC proceedings as well as active in legislative
lobbying at the federal level.  We also spend a fair amount of time
dealing with individual states and their attempts to regulate VoIP.
While I agree with previous posts that they may have in fact been
preempted by Federal law, this will require a significant court
challenge to enforce.  The ensuing time delay in this challenge may
seriously harm smaller providers in this marketplace that are not able
to endure lawsuits.

 

That being said, I feel that the best course of action is significant
involvement and education at any and all levels of government.  Most
legislators do not understand the many different flavors of VoIP, the
concept of nomadic vs static service and the technological
impossibilities of automated address lookup in today's environment.  Any
VoIP provider, large or small should be extremely concerned with any
attempt to mandate VoIP 911 access.  The mere fact that most VoIP
providers can be used in any locale in a state would mandate
interconnection with every PSAP in a state that requires 911 access
(like the proposed legislation in KS and IL).  This is further
complicated by the fact that most VoIP providers are not certificated
CLECs and have no or limited rights of interconnection.

 

To this end, Nuvio has made a significant investment in legal and
lobbying resources to try to successful implement the "right" type of
regulation.  Regulation will be forthcoming on this and other social
issues, it is just a question of if it comes from the federal level or
50 different state jurisdictions.  I for one support a federal regime
and believe the FCC is much more able to draft reasonable and
technically feasible regulations.

 

As with anything, a solid unified message is important.  We have begun
to put together a coalition of VoIP providers and other interested
parties to provide a forceful message to the various regulatory bodies.
I would invite any interested parties to contact me off list if they
wish to join us in this effort.  We are not looking for financial
contributions, just assistance to battle the engrained lobbying
positions of the Bells and others.  Hopefully this will allow those
providers that do not wish to invest the capital and resources that we
have in this fight to have a voice and help guide the proper regulation.

 

 

 

Jason P. Talley

Chief Executive Officer

NUVIO CORPORATION

Phone: 816-444-4422 ext. 6711

Fax: 816-333-5915

http://www.nuvio.com <http://www.nuvio.com/> 

jason at nuvio.com

 

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