Unpacking the FCC’s new 911 PSAP Outage Notification Rules
Around 240 million 911 phone calls are placed each year, which means public safety answering points (PSAPs) receive an average of 7.6 calls every second.
To hear “911, what’s your emergency?” during a time of need relies upon a complex ecosystem of emergency providers and regulations to ensure you’re connecting with the right people.
Emergency regulations like the MLTS regulations prompted by RAY BAUM’s Act and Kari’s Law were enacted in response to outdated emergency systems during these times of need. Now, there is another regulatory mandate that must be accounted for.
What are the FCC’s new 911 PSAP Outage Notification Rules?
The multi-carrier 911 outage in September 2020 shocked the industry and citizens alike and demonstrated the importance of partnering with a dependable 911 provider.
Outages remind many of the level of complexity and coordination required between service providers, PSAPs, and other entities to prevent potential issues.
As a result of the 2020 outages, the FCC announced specific guidelines to improve emergency services infrastructure reliability. This is where the new rules in the FCC’s 911 PSAP Outage Notification Order (“911 PSAP Outage Notification Rules”) come into play.
The FCC released specific requirements that require notifications of actual or potential network outages to special 911 facilities. The new rules go into effect on April 15, 2025. Once in effect, the FCC will require service providers to adopt procedures to notify PSAPs of outages or potential outages.
What’s required by the FCC’s new 911 PSAP Outage Notification Rules?
Together, the FCC, service providers, and PSAPs can create robust risk mitigation strategies, and get one step closer to reducing potential disruptions in emergency services.
The new rules require that:
- Providers that deliver traffic to 911 special facilities obtain and maintain up-to-date contact information (contact and methods) for 911 special facilities to ensure potentially impacted PSAPs can receive notice about outages.
- Initial notice of an outage is provided as soon as possible, but no later than 30 minutes after an outage that could potentially impact service is discovered.
- Second notice is provided as information becomes available, but no more than two hours after initial notification.
- Where an outage lasts more than two hours, providers share additional information as soon as possible until the outage is restored.
Four questions to consider for the FCC’s new 911 PSAP Outage Notification Rules
Note that the new rules will go into effect on April 15, 2025. To prepare, begin by understanding what’s required of you beforehand, and how to address these new rules.
To make sure your organization is ahead of the regulatory curve, sit down with your lawyers and think through the following questions:
1. What changes are necessary to meet reporting requirements?
Complying with the FCC’s new rule involves several key action steps. You’ll need to:
- Determine how you will gather and maintain up-to-date, valid contact information for 911 special facilities, including nearly 6,000 PSAPs.
- Establish how you will manage methods to deliver notifications to all 911 facilities and keep records of all notifications sent to those facilities.
- Develop the most efficient process for identifying and resolving outages while providing updates to 911 facilities within the required timeframe.
2. What potential impact will this regulation have on your organization?
These new rules may affect various aspects of your operations. To fully assess the impact, you’ll want to carefully analyze the following:
- The costs involved for managing the data to become fully compliant with the new rules.
- If you need to increase operational overhead with emergency services data management personnel.
- The impact of potential lawsuits if outages are not reported within the required timeframe.
3. How will you ensure your systems can detect and respond to outages in a timely manner?
Meeting the FCC’s expectations for timely response hinges on the capabilities of your systems. Start by evaluating:
- Make sure your business understands how to identify an outage, when to report on it, and who to report it to
- Audit your systems and ensure they’re able to send multi-medium mass communications to the PSAPs based on their notification preference (e.g., email)
4. Will you have a solution implemented by the deadline?
Proactive planning is essential to meeting the implementation deadline. To prepare, create a roadmap to ensure your company’s compliance with the FCC’s new rules by April 15, 2025.
What should your emergency services provider do about this?
Bandwidth has been reporting to the FCC and PSAPs for years, and we have developed a solution to meet the FCC’s outlined requirements so you’ll be prepared when the rule becomes effective. Talk to your Bandwidth representative today about streamlining your compliance with our PSAP Outage Alerting solution.
Simplify compliance with our intuitive solution
Managing emergency service compliance in a changing regulatory landscape is no small feat. See how Bandwidth’s PSAP Outage Alerting solution can aid in your compliance with the FCC’s new 911 PSAP Outage Notification Rules.
