On May 10th, the FCC’s Technology Transitions Policy Task Force issued a notice seeking comments on real world trials to obtain data helpful to the Commission. The FCC’s potential trials are going to be related to ongoing transitions from copper to fiber, going from wireline to wireless, and going from Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) to Internet Protocol (IP). The objective is to determine what policies would promote investment and innovations while still protecting consumers, promote competition, and ensure that all IP remains resilient. For example, a potential trial related to emergency care could examine how the nation’s emergency calling (911) system is going to migrate to Next Generation 9-1-1 or (NG911). The FCC seeks comments on a possible trial to assist the Commission, states, local and Tribal governments, and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) in a few geographic areas.
The FCC seeks comments on how a possible calling system trial could elicit data on the impact of network resiliency and public safety more broadly as consumers migrate to wireless and IP-based services that are dependent on commercial power.
The FCC is also looking to conduct trials to assess the impact on residential and business customers as they are transitioned from wireline, voice, and broadband products to wireless alternatives. The trial would compare wireline and wireless offerings across a number of dimensions, including quality and terms of service, price, product functionalities, E-911 performance, accessibility options, reliability and potential carrier cost savings, when delivering voice and data services to higher cost areas.
As trials are conducted, it will be necessary to acquire and report on useful data. The FCC needs to know what type of reporting should be required from participants and what sort of automated or non-automated data collection would be useful in each trial plus answers to other questions.
The Commission is also looking into additional trials on numbering and related databases. The FCC recently authorized a limited six month trial to provide interconnected VoIP providers direct access to numbers, but that trial will not specifically examine changes in the structure of current numbering databases, so the agency wants to look again at the assignment of numbers and features, capabilities, and security issues related to numbering databases.
Go to http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0510?DA-13-1016A1.pdf for the Public Notice “Technology Transitions Policy Task Force Seeks Comments on Potential Trials.” For further details, email Patrick Halley at PatrickHalley@fcc.gov.