FCC Proposes Text-to-911 Requirements for Carriers and Other Texting Applications

On December 13, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Further Notice) asking for public comment on proposed new text-to-911 requirements. Building on comments filed in response to a September 2011 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (2011 Notice) on a Next Generation 911 (NG911) system, the Further Notice proposes requiring all wireless carriers and providers of "interconnected" text messaging applications to support text messaging to 911 in areas where 911 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) are prepared to accept the texts. The Further Notice also asks for comment on various aspects of implementing the 911 texting requirements, including proposed automatic bounce back messages for areas where text-to-911 is not yet available.