Deal on rival e911 bills hinges on access to databases

House and Senate negotiators are fine-tuning legislation that would make it easier for Internet-based telecom providers to offer "enhanced" 911 emergency service, but a dispute over customer databases could put the effort on hold.

Comment on this article in The Forum.The so-called E911 service, which would enable emergency calls to transmit a dialer's address, location, name and phone number, is considered critical for Internet telephony, known as Voice-over Internet protocol, which allows one phone number to be used from different locations. Staffers with the Commerce panels in both chambers are seeking to meld bills introduced by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn. The biggest flashpoint involves provisions in Gordon's version that allow telecoms access to 911 records only for emergency purposes.

Verizon and other incumbents want to use the records -- which contain data about their subscribers and those of competitors -- to glean information for petitions to the FCC seeking regulatory relief. But competing carriers are crying foul.

"That information shouldn't be used for competitive purposes," said a House staffer.

Verizon responded by highlighting a March 13 letter that the U.S. Telecom Association sent to pertinent lawmakers contending that Gordon's language "does nothing to improve 911 services or enhance public safety" and "prevents certain types of statistical evidence from being presented to the FCC."

Greg Rhode, executive director of the nonprofit E911 Institute, said some incumbents have balked at letting Internet-based carriers use the records for emergency purposes because they dispute the FCC's classification of them as a lightly regulated information service. "We think there's a very high likelihood of it being resolved," said one Senate staffer.

"We would object strongly to this bill being scuttled because of this one provision," added Patrick Halley, government affairs director for the National Emergency Number Association. Assuming the dispute is ironed out, negotiators hope to finalize the legislation in a week, sources said.

Co-sponsors of the Senate version include Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey along with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. Senate Commerce Chairman Daniel Inouye altered the bill during a markup by his panel and Commerce ranking member Ted Stevens amended it on the floor. The House companion bill has six co-sponsors, including Reps. Charles (Chip) Pickering, R-Miss., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.

Both bills codify FCC rules adopted in 2005 requiring the provision of E911 service where technically feasible, guaranteeing interconnection rights for this purpose and requiring a report to Congress on migrating to the next generation of E911 technology. The measures extend liability protections for E911 calls to emergency dispatchers, Internet-based telecom providers and future technologies. Such protections, which already cover wireless and wireline communications providers, are designed to shelter callers, companies and dispatchers from lawsuits if something goes awry with a 911 connection.