Today: FCC 911 Outage Investigation, LNP Transition Outreach, Lifeline Petitions, New York Prepares for New 838 Area Code

FCC 911 Outage Investigation

The FCC announced it launched an investigation into the 911 outage that impacted AT&T wireless subscribers across the United States on the evening of March 8, 2017.  FCC Chairman Pai said “Every call to 911 must go through” and that he as soon as he heard about the outage he directed FCC staff to contact AT&T about the outage and the company’s efforts to restore access.  He said he also spoke to Randall Stephenson, AT&T’s chief executive officer and “stressed the urgent need to restore service and to communicate with first responders, as well as AT&T customers, about the status of operations.”  FCC staff said it would fully investigate the outage and determine the root cause and its impact.

FCC LNP Transition Outreach And Education Event

The FCC announced that the 14th LNPA Transition Outreach and Education Plan (TOEP) webcast will be held on March 15, 2017.  The webcast will be hosted by Price Waterhouse Coopers, LLP, the Transition Oversight Manager (TOM).  Interested parties may register for the webcast here.  The objectives for the webcasts are: to provide transparent communications regarding the LNPA Transition; to serve as an open forum to gather and understand needs and concerns; and to incorporate feedback to improve future communications. 

FCC Lifeline Petitions For Reconsideration

The FCC has established the date for filing comments on various petitions asking it to review or reconsider its decision revoking the Lifeline Broadband Provider designation of several carriers.  See the Regulatory Mix dated 2/6/17.  Comments are due March 16, 2017; replies are due March 23, 2017. 

New York Prepares for New 838 Area Code

The PSC announced that residential, business and wireless customers within the existing 518 area code should be preparing for the introduction of the new 838 area code, and the start of permissive 10-digit dialing (518 or 838 plus the 7-digit local telephone number) beginning March 18, 2017.  In September 2016 the PSC approved a new area code to be added to the current 518 area code region which serves all or part of the 17 counties in eastern upstate New York, including: Albany, Clinton, Columbia, Dutchess, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren and Washington.  TMI Briefing Service subscribers see Briefing dated 10/19/16.

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.

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