Alexandria, VA –Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Policy Statement and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the provision of text to 9-1-1 services and other next generation 9-1-1 applications.

The Policy Statement builds upon the earlier voluntary agreement APCO reached with the four national wireless carriers and NENA to offer text to 9-1-1 service.  “APCO is pleased with the progress of our voluntary agreement and appreciates the Commission’s acknowledgement, through its Policy Statement, of the value of this agreement to serve as a model for extending text to 9-1-1 services to other parties and platforms,” said APCO President Gigi Smith.

President Smith continued “while the voluntary agreement was a successful and strong first step, it was limited to the four national carriers and Short Messaging Service (SMS) texts.  We are pleased that the FCC is also proposing rules to achieve more widespread availability of text to 9-1-1 from all wireless service providers and over-the-top messaging applications that interconnect with the telephone network, and are mindful of Chairman Wheeler’s call for ‘PSAPs to do their part’ and adopt capabilities to receive text 9-1-1 calls.”

In this regard, President Smith committed to “continuing and extending APCO’s collaborative approach to all stakeholders, while at the same time working within the FCC’s notice and comment framework, to achieve the most effective outcome to enable the public to send texts to 9-1-1 whenever a voice call is not possible.”

President Smith added that “public education will be key to ensure that the general public is best informed as to the existing and future availability and limitations of text to 9-1-1 services.”

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APCO International (www.apcointl.org)
APCO International is the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals and supports the largest U.S. membership base of any public safety association. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide – and the welfare of the general public as a whole – by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach.