FCC Allows Providers Flexibility on 911 Service Reliability Certification

request from Intrado that the commission clarify or partially reconsider a 2013 decision requiring 911 communications providers to certify annually they're taking reasonable measures to provide reliable service through "911 circuit diversity, central office backup power, and diverse network monitoring." That order was intended to address 911 failures during the 2012 derecho storm in the east. In clarifying its rules Thursday, the commission said ensuring 911 reliability is a critical statutory public-safety mandate but implementation may vary by service provider or location. "Specifically, we clarify that ... Covered 911 Service Providers may implement and certify an alternative measure for any of the specific certification elements, as long as they provide an explanation of how such alternative measures are reasonably sufficient to mitigate the risk of failure," the order said. "We believe that this should include an explanation of how the alternative will mitigate such risk at least to a comparable extent as the measures specified in our rules." Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said he recognized the importance of reliable emergency communications but added the FCC must do better at getting things right the first time. "The philosophy seems to be act now, fix later," he said in a statement, noting he had dissented from the 2013 order and a follow-up NPRM in April that he said seeks "to expand the needlessly burdensome requirements." While the FCC should act swiftly, he said, it shouldn't do so by writing rules that aren't "fully cooked," which burdens providers that pass costs along to consumers: "For industry to comply, these rules must be relatively stable, not stuck in a continuous cycle of being reconsidered or altered." He said he nevertheless supported the current clarification because it provides "necessary flexibility" to certifying compliance.