Regulatory Issues: Emergency Calling

1
Regulatory Issues Emergency Calling

• Henning Schulzrinne
• Dept. of Computer Science
• Columbia University

2
The Big Picture

• Future regulatory network architecture
• regulatory interfaces
• avoid telecommunication vs. information
  services
• Affects everything
• network neutrality
• emergency calling
• NGN discussions

Yahoo iTunes Google MSN mySpace Skype eBay
services applications (HTTP, SIP, RTSP, )
OS vendors software services
sockets
ISP (IP, DHCP, DNS)
enterprise consumer ISP
RJ-45
network access (fiber, copper, wireless)
natural monopoly or oligopoly geographic range
enterprise consumer ISP
3
Components of emergency calling
transition (I2)
end-to-end IP (NG911)
PSTN
Contact well-known number or identifier
112 911
112 911
dial 112, 911 ? urnservicesos
Route call to location-appropriate PSAP
selective router
VPC
LoST (service,location) ? URL
Deliver precise location to call taker to
dispatch emergency help
phone number ? location (ALI lookup)
in-band ? key ? location
in-band
4
The core emergency calling problem
Voice Service Provider (VSP) sees emergency
call but does not know caller location
ISP/IAP knows user location but does not handle
call
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UA recognition UA resolution
DHCP (w/loc) LLDP-MED (L2) GPS (outdoors)
mapping location ? URL
9-1-1
leonianj.gov
INVITE sippsap_at_leonianj.gov To
urnservicesos ltlocationgt
INVITE sippsap_at_leonianj.gov To
urnservicesos ltlocationgt
6
LUMP architecture
G
tree guide
G
G
G
broadcast (gossip)
T1 .us T2 .de
G
resolver
T2 (.de)
seeker 313 Westview Leonia, NJ US
T3 (.dk)
T1 (.us)
Leonia, NJ ? sippsap_at_leonianj.gov
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Regulatory issue 1 location access

• Location information is necessary for emergency
  call routing
• Consumer access to location information
• DSL and cable provider have best knowledge of
  customer location
• all other methods are much more expensive, have
  lower resolution or work only in densely
  populated areas (e.g., 802.11 triangulation)
• But consumer may use non-ILEC/MSO voice provider
• visitors may bring their own devices
• 802.11 access to neighbors modem in emergency
• Non-discrimination against

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Regulatory issue 2 MSAG ALI data

• MSAG master-street address guide
• contains all street addresses and their ESNs
• usually maintained by PSAP and local authorities
• ALI mapping of phone numbers to locations
• needed if PSTN phones are part of the all-IP
  solution
• Sometimes held or managed by ILEC or database
  vendors
• possibly unclear data ownership
• need open access by ISPs and VSPs
• for visitors, VSP may not be in same country

9
Regulatory issue 3 911 funding

• Only US (AFAIK) uses phone tax to fund parts of
  PSAP operation
• but not everywhere in the US
• rates vary widely and non-local collection
  difficult
• money often becomes part of general fund or funds
  police cruisers
• should tax on water be used to fund the fire
  department?
• Old model is a family tax
• each line pays
• each family member with a cell phone pays
• ? regressive
• Old model no longer works for IP communications
• ? no longer works if people switch to multiple
  providers, non-local operators
• register phone in non-tax state ? enforcement
  mechanism for 12/year?

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911 funding goals and requirements

• Encourage availability of 9-1-1 on as many
  devices as possible
• multiple devices per person
• intermittently-used devices (car, home
  entertainment systems)
• corporate end users
• Sustainable funding model
• Limit incentives for bypass
• e.g., by registering service in no-fee areas or
  using non-US VSP (e.g., Skype)
• Avoid distortion of telecom competition
• e.g., by only making 9-1-1 available to some
  providers
• Low cost to collect and administer
• including compliance
• Fees accrue to area where payer is located
• even if billing address is somewhere else
• Minimize opportunities for tax repurposing
• i.e., 9-1-1 fee becomes part of general revenue
• Desirable tax fairness
• income-based rather than head tax

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911 funding possibilities

• Per-household fee
• e.g., similar to vehicle taxes
• could be collected by ISP or wireless provider
• show proof of payment to service provider
• somewhat tedious for user
• General revenue (including sales tax)
• public safety is a core government function
• emergency calling is a core component of public
  safety
• not that many call boxes left
• Local tax revenue
• in some cases, only about 12/household/year,
  i.e., 0.5 of typical NJ property taxes ?
• Homeowners insurance surtax
• clearly reflects residence of payer

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911 funding problems

• Dont have good estimate for current income
  stream
• wireless wireline
• local taxes
• Dont have good estimates of capex and opex for
  running 9-1-1 system
• Unclear how new technical structures will change
  balance of local vs. regional infrastructure
• e.g., state-wide data sharing or call routing

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Regulatory issue 4 transition

• conservative wait until the last analog phone is
  disconnected
• in 2050?
• no-offense run two systems in parallel
• another trunk (IP) into the PSAP PBX
• possible, but requires integration for GIS
• may limit functionality
• doesnt solve PSAP reliability and situational
  awareness problems
• forward-looking convert to all IP-PSAPs ASAP
• convert CAMA trunks from selective router via
  gateway
• simplifies Phase II transition ( possibly
  cheaper)
• allows better redundancy and better support for
  deaf callers

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Summary

• Technical issues for NG911 are solvable, but
  require regulatory assistance
• right to location
• right to MSAG and ALI data
• right funding model
• encourage early transition
• Slides at shurl.net/xJ or url.fm/24z