Build voice and data support at same time in NG911 system: Freedom

GATINEAU, Que. — There are unique considerations for wireless carriers when contemplating the switch to next-generation 911 (NG911) services, a CRTC panel was told on the penultimate day of a public hearing on improvements to the 911 network, including the fact they can offer more services for 911 users more quickly. On Thursday, Freedom Mobile vice-president of regulatory and carrier relations Ed Antecol said their submission aligned with that made by parent company Shaw Communications Inc. earlier in the week, but it was important to keep in mind that “many of the new, feature-rich communications that Canadians expect to be able to transmit have been developed for and will either launch exclusively on wireless networks or before they are available on wireline networks.” He said he didn’t agree with comments made by other intervenors earlier in the week that suggested NG911 networks be built first for voice and then additional forms of communication such as real-time text (RTT) and video messaging, as it would “inevitably delay any improvement in 911-response capabilities for more than a decade.” BCE Inc., which also appeared Thursday, added to the call that voice should drive the NG911 transition. “We must ensure that NG911 services maintain the same level of accuracy and reliability that Canadians currently rely on,” Denise Potvin, Bell’s senior manager of regulatory affairs, said in French. “Additional methods of communications such as multimedia and telematics can eventually be incorporated into the 911 environment but only if they provide information that PSAPs deem to be useful in assisting emergency services and then only when PSAPs have adopted appropriate methods and procedures to support such communications.” Potvin said there are currently no mobile devices or apps that support real-time texting, therefore there haven’t been any RTT trials. RTT is envisioned as an eventual replacement for teletypewriter service, Potvin said, but it’s not viable until it’s native to devices, as opposed to an over-the-top application, which would provide caller location. All of the major carriers in the United States have committed to building native real-time texting support within two years, Antecol said, adding Canadians should plan for a launch of RTT at the same time. “The only constraint should be that there needs to be enough in a region to safely transition to NG911 if we’re going to do that,” Antecol said, using the city of Toronto as an example. “You can’t have the Toronto PSAP NG911-ready and operating in an NG911 environment and not Brampton and Oakville PSAPs as well because there would be a huge amount of confusion in the GTA about when you can text to 911 and when you can’t.” If time wasn’t important, Antecol said a scenario posed by commissioner Christopher MacDonald, where NG911 services were only launched once all PSAPs across the country were able to support it would be ideal. That not being the case, he said there has to be enough NG911-capable PSAPs within a sizeable geographic area (such as all of southwestern Ontario, for example) before flipping the switch. Where problems would arise is within the community of people with disabilities, Antecol noted. Someone who can text 911 in Ontario, but not in the Maritimes could still reach emergency services, but only if they can rely on a voice call as a safety net. Accessibility accommodations in the NG911 system not only help people with disabilities, but also all Canadians who need to reach emergency services, commissioners heard Thursday. Among the recommendations made by Media Access Canada, which is a coalition of accessibility stakeholders, was for a symbol-based application that sends predetermined messages. It’s something that would also be useful for new Canadians or even otherwise able-bodied people who need to reach emergency services but are too frightened to speak, said Kim Kilpatrick, from the Canadian Council of the Blind. Attitudinal barriers are among those that need to be overcome when forming a new system, advocates said. Quoting recent remarks from federal Sport and Persons with Disabilities Minister Carla Qualtrough, Carmela Hutchison — who is president of the Disabled Women’s Network of Canada — said that “lack of choice for people with disabilities is bad for business and bad for people with disabilities.” People with disabilities are a significant market, Hutchison said, of 3.8 million people whose needs don’t change and are similar to those of the aging population. “And we are a business. We’re a market, an industry, and it’s important to see us that way as well and to stop always seeing us in the negative,” Hutchison said. “We are a market and we have dollars. I am a taxpayer, too.” On the business side, Bell, which is the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) currently operating the 911 network in five provinces, argued against proposals for a national consortium to steer the transition to NG911 as well as the prospect of opening the new service up to a competitive bid for a national provider. “I don’t think any of us see how it could be quicker or how it could be cheaper,” Philippe Gauvin, senior counsel of regulatory affairs for Bell, said, citing extra costs such as having to hire a consultant to research existing networks and leasing or building new facilities to service PSAPs. On Wednesday, the CRTC panel heard from Quebecor Inc. that a next-generation 911 network wouldn’t cost more than it does now to maintain. “Make no mistake, the proposals for national administrative bodies or national 911 providers will add complexity, create delay and potentially carve our holistic 911 system into piecemeal parts operating by different players” that would “dilute accountability and heighten the risk of failure,” Gauvin said. The current model is cost-effective, Bell reps said, pointing to Canadian fees as lower than those in the United States. Fadi Dabliz, director of 911 emergency services for BCE companies, said that in Ontario Bell’s wireline E911 monthly service fees are $0.13 and just over $0.10 for wireless services (including text with 911). In New Jersey, which was said to be one of the states with lower fees, wireline, wireless and voice-over Internet protocol access fees are $0.90 US. “Given the vast Canadian expanse and limited customer base, we believe the facts speak for themselves,” Dabliz said, noting New Jersey processes “only slightly more” calls annually, about 8.7 million, in its 22,000 square-kilometre area, compared to Ontario’s more than one million square kilometres. “Canadians are getting excellent service at low cost.” — With reporting by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

Build voice and data support at same time in NG911 system: Freedom

Broadcast | January 19, 2017

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Build voice and data support at same time in NG911 system: Freedom

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