Background
During emergencies, the importance of our
country’s communications systems becomes clear. These
communications systems include the wireline and wireless
telephone networks, broadcast and cable television, radio,
satellite systems, and increasingly the Internet. For example,
in an emergency, we may dial 911, call our family members to
make sure they are safe, and turn on our televisions and radios
to get breaking news and important updates. Although our
communications systems are among the world’s most extensive and
dependable, unusual conditions can put a strain on them.
Since September 11, 2001, and Hurricane
Katrina, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken
important steps to ensure that 911 services remain operational
when disasters strike. For example, in response to
recommendations of an independent panel reviewing the impact of
Hurricane Katrina, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security
Bureau (PSHSB) is working on several fronts to improve
communications during emergencies, including streamlining
collection of outage information during times of crisis through
the Disaster Information Reporting System, helping ensure that
communications workers receive “essential personnel” credentials
during emergencies, working with other federal agencies to
improve interoperability among first responders, and promoting
use of enhanced 911 best practices. For more information
regarding these and other initiatives, visit PSHSB’s Web site at
www.fcc.gov/pshs.
The following information will help you
better understand what happens to our communications systems
during an emergency and how best to use our communications
systems during a crisis or disaster.
Emergency Communications Components
There are three main components to
emergency communications:
1. 911 telephone call processing and
delivery through Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP) and
call dispatch;
2. The Emergency Alert System; and
3. Radio and/or broadcast or cable
television station news and updates.
All of these components must operate
effectively in order to achieve a successful response to an
emergency. |
911 Calls
Emergency personnel and others often learn
about emergencies through 911 calls. The 911 network is a vital
part of our nation's emergency response and disaster
preparedness system. This network is constantly being upgraded
to provide emergency help more quickly and effectively. Dialing
911 quickly connects you to a PSAP dispatcher trained to route
your call to local emergency medical, fire, and law enforcement
agencies. At the PSAP, the dispatcher verifies the caller’s
location, determines the nature of the emergency, and decides
which emergency response teams should be notified.
Most traditional wireline 911 systems
automatically report to the PSAP the telephone number and
location of calls, a capability called “Enhanced 911” or “E911.”
With this information, PSAP staff are able to call back if the
911 call is disconnected, and also know where to send emergency
services personnel. E911 service from wireline phones is
available in most parts of the country.
Wireless 911 Calls
The mobility of wireless telephone service
makes determining a wireless 911 caller’s location more
complicated than determining a traditional wireline 911 caller’s
location, where numbers are associated with a fixed address. In
order to enhance the ability of emergency personnel to respond
efficiently and effectively to callers placing wireless 911
calls, the FCC has taken a number of steps to ensure that
wireless service providers make location information
automatically available to PSAPs.
Basic 911 rules require wireless
service providers to:
Phase I Enhanced 911 (E911) rules
require wireless service providers to:
Phase II E911 rules require wireless
service providers to:
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within six months of a valid request by
a PSAP, provide more precise location information to PSAPs;
specifically, the latitude and longitude of the caller. This
information must be accurate to within 50 to 300 meters
depending on the type of technology used.
For more information about wireless 911
service, see the FCC consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/wireless911srvc.html
VoIP and 911
Some VoIP services allow you to make and
receive calls to and from regular phone numbers, usually using
an Internet connection. This type of VoIP service is called an
“interconnected VoIP” service, whether the service is one that
can only be used at a fixed location, such as a residence, or
one that can be used wherever the user travels as long as a
broadband Internet connection is available.
Since 2005, the FCC has required
interconnected VoIP providers automatically to provide 911
service to all customers as a standard, mandatory feature
without customers having specifically to request this service.
VoIP providers may not allow their customers to “opt-out” of 911
service.
Before an interconnected VoIP service
provider may activate a new customer’s service, the provider
must obtain from the customer the physical location where the
service will first be used so that emergency services personnel
will be able to locate VoIP callers who dial 911. Interconnected
VoIP providers must also provide ways for all customers to
update the physical location they have registered with the
provider, if it changes.
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Interconnected VoIP providers must
transmit all 911 calls, as well as a callback number
and the caller’s registered physical location, to the PSAP
over the 911 network.
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All providers must specifically advise
new and existing customers of the circumstances under which
911 service may not be available through the interconnected
VoIP service or may in some way be limited in comparison to
traditional 911 service. They must distribute labels to all
customers warning them if 911 service may be limited or not
available and instructing them to place the labels on and/or
near the equipment used in conjunction with the
interconnected VoIP service.
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Interconnected VoIP providers must
obtain affirmative acknowledgement from all existing
customers that they are aware of and understand any
limitations of their 911 service.
For more information about VoIP and 911,
see our consumer advisory at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/voip911.html.
Emergency Calling for Persons with Speech or Hearing Disabilities
Text telephone devices (TTYs) allow persons
with speech or hearing disabilities to send and receive text
messages over telephone networks. Wireless service providers
have made technological changes to their networks to provide TTY
compatibility for digital wireless calls for consumers
with TTY-compatible hand-sets. In certain locations, however,
TTY users may not be able to complete 911 calls using these
newly available digital wireless services. In the meantime, TTY
users should consider alternatives for placing an emergency 911
call, such as wireline phone service, analog wireless service,
or Telecommunications Relay Service. For more information about
using TTY devices with digital wireless phones, see the FCC
consumer advisory at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/ttywireless.html.
To further improve emergency call handling
for persons with speech or hearing disabilities, the FCC now
requires Video Relay Service (VRS) and Internet Protocol (IP)
Relay service providers to provide regular ten-digit telephone
numbers to their subscribers so that subscribers’ emergency
calls, along with the ten-digit number and location information,
automatically route to the appropriate PSAP. VRS and IP Relay
providers must inform their subscribers of these new procedures
and the need to keep location information updated.
For more information about emergency call
handling for VRS and IP Relay, see the FCC consumer advisory at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/trstendigit.html.
Network and Power Outages
The FCC has established the Disaster
Information Reporting System (DIRS) to allow wireless, wireline,
broadcast, and cable providers voluntarily to report on the
status of their infrastructure and operations during times of
crisis. This information is not made public, but allows the FCC
to monitor and evaluate communications services during a crisis.
DIRS supplements the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS).
Through NORS, the FCC requires wireless, wireline, cable, and
satellite companies providing voice and paging services to
report significant disruptions or outages to their networks, and
disruptions affecting 911 facilities or airports. Again the data
is not made public, but allows the FCC to monitor and evaluate
disruptions and outages.
If there is a power outage during an
emergency, your wireline phone, wireless device, or VoIP service
may not work unless you have a back-up power supply. If you
suffer only an electrical power outage, you should still be able
to use a traditional wireline (but not cordless) telephone,
because electrical and telephone transmissions use different
circuits or wires and telephone company facilities have back-up
power available. If you keep the battery on your wireless phone
or other device fully charged, these devices should also
continue working during a power outage. Note that, because
wireless networks may be congested during an emergency, sending
a text message may work better than placing a voice call.
Finally, unless you have a battery-operated TV or radio, these
devices will not work during a power outage.
Emergency Alert System
In the event of an emergency, many people
rely on radio and television to receive updates on what is
happing and what to do.
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a
national public warning system that requires TV and radio
broadcasters, cable television systems, wireless cable systems,
satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) providers, direct
broadcast satellite (DBS) service providers, and wireline video
service providers to offer to the President the communications
capability to address the American public during a national
emergency. The system also may be used by state and local
authorities to deliver important emergency information such as
AMBER (missing children) alerts and emergency weather
information targeted to a specific area.
The FCC, in conjunction with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (NWS),
implement the EAS at the national level. Only the President
determines when the EAS will be activated at the national level,
and has delegated the administration of this function to FEMA.
Exception: If your local television,
radio tower or studio is damaged during a natural disaster like
a tornado, you might not receive emergency alerts. EAS was
designed, however, so that if one link in the dissemination of
alert information is broken, the public has multiple alternate
sources of warning.
For more information about the EAS, see the
FCC consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/eas.html.
Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS)
The FCC has established the CMAS to allow
wireless service providers choosing to participate to send
emergency alerts to their subscribers. During 2007 and 2008, the
FCC proposed and then adopted the architecture and framework
requirements, the technical requirements, and operating
procedures for the CMAS. While much
work has been done, the exact date that CMAS
will become operational depends on many factors, and is still
probably at least two years in the future. Most major wireless
service providers have told the FCC they will participate,
although some have indicated they may not be able to provide
alerts to all customers immediately after CMAS starts operation.
Additional smaller providers may decide to participate later
when all technical issues are resolved and they can better
determine their costs.
For more information about CMAS, see the
FCC consumer advisory at
/cgb/consumerfacts/cmas.html.
Accessibility of Emergency Information
The FCC requires broadcasters, cable
operators, and satellite TV providers to make local emergency
information accessible to persons who are deaf or hard of
hearing, and to persons who are blind or have visual
disabilities. Thus, emergency information must be provided both
aurally and in a visual format.
In the case of persons who are deaf or hard
of hearing, emergency information that is provided in the audio
portion of programming must be provided either using closed
captioning or other methods of visual presentation, such as open
captioning, crawls, or scrolls that appear on the screen. In the
case of persons with vision difficulties, emergency information
that is provided in the video portion of a regularly scheduled
newscast or a newscast that interrupts regular programming must
be made accessible. This requires the aural description of
emergency information in the main audio. If the programmer
provides the emergency information through “crawling” or
“scrolling” during regular programming, this information must be
accompanied by an aural tone.
If an emergency affects the broadcast
station or non-broadcast network or distributor, it may be
impossible for that broadcaster, network, or distributor to
provide accessible emergency information.
For more information about accessibility of
emergency information, see the FCC consumer fact sheet at
www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/emergencyvideo.html.
Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Information
For additional information on communicating
during emergencies and helpful tips on emergency preparedness,
visit the Web site of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland
Security Bureau at
www.fcc.gov/pshs. You may also want to visit the Web sites
of these other federal government emergency organizations:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA),
www.fema.gov, is responsible for responding to national
disasters and helping state and local governments and
individuals prepare for emergencies.
The Department of Homeland Security
(DHS),
www.dhs.gov/index.shtm, is responsible for preventing
terrorist attacks within the United States and reducing
America’s vulnerability to terrorism. DHS has established the
homeland security advisory system, which rates terrorist threats
to federal, state, and local authorities and the public. The
system provides warnings through a set of graduated “threat
conditions” that increase as the risk of the threat increases.
State civil defense agencies alert the public of any changes to
the threat level through the news media.
The threat conditions are:
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Severe Condition (Red) – Severe
risk of terrorist attacks. Requires sounding of emergency
alert sirens.
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High Condition (Orange) – High
risk of terrorist attacks.
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Elevated Condition (Yellow) –
Significant risk of terrorist attacks.
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Guarded Condition (Blue) –
General risk of terrorist attacks.
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Low Condition (Green) – Low risk
of terrorist attacks.
For More Information
For information about
other communications issues, visit the FCC’s Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau Web site at
www.fcc.gov/cgb, or contact the FCC’s Consumer Center by
e-mailing fccinfo@fcc.gov;
calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or
1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232;
or writing to:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
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