The Jeff Pulver Blog: DC Circuit Upholds the FCC's decision requiring providers of interconnected VoIP services to provide E-911 service:

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December 15, 2006

DC Circuit Upholds the FCC's decision requiring providers of interconnected VoIP services to provide E-911 service:

The DC Circuit upheld the FCC's decision requiring providers of interconnected VoIP services to provide E-911 service.

Specifically, the Court conclude that the E911 for VoIP Order's 120-day deadline for VoIP providers to be in compliance with FCC rules was neither arbitrary nor capricious. The Court deferred to the FCC's judgment on the FCC's decision to require VoIP to connect to the Wireline E911 network without a corresponding obligation on ILECs. The Court also found that because the FCC had asked about 911 in its IP enabled services proceeding, their was sufficient process under the Administrative Procedure's Act.

The Court, however, did not address, and was not asked to address, whether the FCC's marketing and sales ban was lawful. Judge Kavanaugh, wrote a separate statement to express his agreement with the FCC Order's suggestion that the 911 requirement would be "justified even if VoIP providers could not feasibly meet the 120-day deadline." Although apparently not a view shared by the other judges, he goes on to argue that, "In my judgment, the FCC possesses the statutory authority, which the Commission may reasonably choose to exercise, to address the public safety threat by banning providers from selling voice service until the providers can ensure adequate 911 connections. And the FCC's greater authority to ban sales of voice service without adequate 911 capability necessarily includes the lesser power to ban such sales beginning in 120 days." ... "The broad public safety and 911 authority Congress has granted the FCC therefore includes the authority to prevent providers from selling voice service that lacks adequate 911 capability."

Tags: E911, FCC Jeff Pulver