FCC GOES FOR BROKE ON E911 BY FINING AT&T WIRELESS $2.2M
Tim McElligott
Telephony, May 27, 2002
The FCC chose National Wireless Safety Week last week to prove to wireless
operators that it is serious about Phase II E911 compliance, hitting AT&T Wireless
with a proposed $2.2 million fine.
AT&T failed to begin rollout of Phase II emergency services by the Oct. 1, 2001,
deadline along with most other large operators. However, a waiver request, which
was granted by the FCC, was filed in anticipation of not being able to meet the
Phase II distance specifications and gave no indication that AT&T expected delays in
deploying E911 infrastructure and handsets.
AT&T was fined $500,000 for telling the FCC it did not require a waiver to begin
activating location-capable handsets in its GSM network. An additional $500,000 was
levied for not implementing infrastructure upgrades to make its network Phase II
capable within six months of a valid request by a Public Safety Answering Point.
It could cost AT&T an additional $1.2 million for not notifying the commission within
30 days that the information in the waiver was no longer valid. “The commission is
extremely serious and will take all measures necessary to seek compliance,” said
an FCC spokesman. The penalties are as serious as the commission's disposition.
Cingular Wireless was hit with a $100,000 fine earlier this month and has agreed to
pay without contest. Cingular issued a statement saying that the consent degree
“represented a productive resolution to the complex challenges associated with
Phase II implementation.”
However, the company declined to comment on whether it would have been as
agreeable had the penalty been similar in size to the one levied against AT&T.
AT&T plans to fight the fine. The company has 30 days to respond, and much of its
story likely will focus on its vendors.
“Unfortunately, E911 is not only technically complex, it is made more challenging by
circumstances beyond our control,” an AT&T spokeswoman said. “We are dependent
upon infrastructure and handset vendors meeting their commitments to us. In this
case, some of them failed to meet those commitments.”
The commission doesn't want to hear it. “It's the carriers' job to keep their vendors
in line,” the FCC spokesman said.
Even AT&T's competitors take umbrage with the FCC's line of thinking. Verizon
Wireless quickly disseminated news last week about its successful deployment of
Phase II-compliant phones. “These rules were first adopted by the FCC in the
mid-'90s. The technology didn't exist at that point when hard and fast deadlines
were set, which is clearly an issue of the government getting into the technology
business,” said a Verizon Wireless spokesman.
Last summer, Verizon Wireless switched its strategy for E911 to deploying a
handset-based solution. AT&T and Cingular, by choosing a GSM infrastructure,
require a hybrid handset- and network-based solution. Both have experienced
delays from their handset and infrastructure vendors.
AT&T filed an amended waiver request Feb. 1 at the same time it filed a required
quarterly update to the FCC informing the commission of vendor delays.
The FCC said AT&T acted contrary to its waiver agreement by proceeding with the
deployment of its GSM network without location-capable handsets.
It is unfair for operators that have relied on vendors' forecasts to be held
responsible for missed deadlines, said Michael Altschul, senior vice president of
regulatory affairs and general counsel for CTIA.
“If deployment is lacking, it is not because carriers don't understand that [E911] is a
priority, it's because it is new and difficult technology. And sometimes new and
difficult technology can't be created on an arbitrary schedule,” Altschul said.
In AT&T's modified waiver request, it said its primary vendors — Ericsson, Nokia
and Nortel Networks — would have equipment at AT&T's labs by mid-June. |
