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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 30, 2021 / Proposed Rules
the responsibility for updating and maintaining the database would lie. The Commission notes that the utility of a PSAP contact information database is dependent upon the accuracy of the information it contains. The Commission consequently seeks comment on how best to ensure the reliability and integrity of the data contained therein. For example, NENAs PSAP registry is free of charge for PSAPs. The Commission seeks comment on whether allowing PSAPs to participate free of charge will enhance the accuracy of PSAP contact information in the database.
Furthermore, the Commission seeks comment on whether users and creators of a PSAP contact information database should be prohibited from using that information for any other purpose not related to public safety or maintenance of the database. The Commission seeks comment on whether and how frequently service providers and PSAPs would update their own information in the database. Would the operator of the database need to regularly validate this information on a monthly or annual basis? The Commission seeks comment on the frequency of data validation necessary to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the database.
34. If service providers elect to have a third party operate the PSAP contact information database, the Commission seeks comment on what possible liability issues could arise from such a third-party database. If the failure of a service provider to notify a PSAP of an outage were due to inaccurate information in the database, who would the potential liable parties be? Several commenters argue that service providers should be shielded from liability for reliance upon information provided by the PSAP contact information database.
The Commission seeks comment on whether such a safe harbor would encourage or inhibit use of the PSAP
contact information database. Would such an effort help to reduce the costs of compliance with this proposal?
Further, rather than establishing a safe harbor rule, would service provider liability concerns be more appropriately addressed through a requirement that service providers contracting with third party database operators require those operators to implement measures to ensure the accuracy of the third-party database that are at least as stringent as the measures that the service providers employ for their internal databases?
B. Customer Notification of 911 Outages 35. When an outage affects 911
service, dialing 911 may not always connect someone in need of emergency
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services with a PSAP, which may lead to devastating effects. However, those in need of emergency services often do not know when 911 services are down, only that their emergency calls remain unanswered. Therefore, to increase public awareness of 911 availability and to help protect the publics safety when 911 services are disrupted, the Commission proposes to require service providers to notify their customers of 911 outages within 60 minutes of determining there is an outage by providing material information on their websites and internet-related applications.
36. Notification Breadth. The Commission proposes that cable, satellite, wireless, wireline, interconnected VoIP, and covered 911
service providers notify their customers when there is an outage that affects the availability of 911 voice or text-to-911
services for their customers. This includes both originating service providers and covered services providers, as they each provide an essential link in the chain to ensure completion of a 911 call. Because 911
unavailability due to an outage on a covered 911 service providers network affects originating service providers as well, the Commission proposes to require both originating service providers and covered 911 service providers supply public notification of 911 unavailability to their customers.
The Commission seeks comment on this proposal.
37. Notification Threshold. The Commission proposes that service providers notify their customers of a 911
outage that meets the NORS reporting thresholds and also prevents emergency callers on their networks from reaching a PSAP by dialing or texting 911. The Commission believes that such a threshold would minimize potential confusion about 911 availability and ensure that the public is only notified of outages that materially affect emergency callers. The Commission seeks comment on this public notification threshold.
For example, if 911 calls are delivered but without audio for one of the parties either caller or 911 call taker, should this be considered 911 unavailability? If callers cannot reach emergency services by dialing 911 but text-to-911 still operates, should this constitute 911
unavailability? And should a situation where text-to-911 is unavailable due to a network disruption but traditional voice calls to 911 are possible constitute 911 unavailability? As consumers with disabilities may be more likely to text rather than call 911, are there additional considerations in determining 911
unavailability? The Commission seeks
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comment on whether this threshold is too narrow, and if so, which additional types of disruptions to 911 services should trigger public notification. For example, should a loss of transmission of ALI or ANI prompt public notification? The Commission also seeks comment on whether this threshold is too broad.
38. Notification Timing and Frequency. The utility of notifications is inextricably tied to the service providers ability to deliver timely and accurate notifications. The Commission proposes a similar arrangement for public notifications as presented in 4.9h of the Commissions rules for PSAPs: The Commission proposes that customer notifications commence within 60 minutes of the service provider discovering that the outage has resulted in the unavailability of 911
service. 47 CFR 4.9h. With this proposal, the Commission seeks to balance the import of providing the public with the timely ability to access emergency services with the necessity of providing accurate outage information.
The Commission understands that when 911 is unavailable, both service providers and PSAPs are working diligently to make sure the public can reach emergency services. The Commission seeks comment on this proposal. The Commission maintains that such an initial notification of 911
unavailability will increase the likelihood that those in need will understand that 911 is unavailable and attempt other methods to receive necessary emergency assistance. In addition, similar to the proposal regarding PSAP notification timing discussed above, the Commission proposes that service providers update public notices with material information regarding the estimated time of 911
restoration as soon as possible. The provision of updates to the public will help redirect emergency callers back to 911 and ensure that PSAPs may return to normal call-taking status. The Commission seeks comment on this proposal. Is 60 minutes the appropriate threshold? Will this timing obligation interfere with service providers ability to provide notice and support to PSAPs?
Are there other burdens that this timing proposal creates? How can they be mitigated? Conversely, is this timeframe too lengthy to provide meaningful information to the public?
39. Notification Content. The Commission proposes to require that service providers create public notifications that include the following:
1 A statement that there is an outage affecting 911 availability, 2 a description of the geographic area where
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