The FCC published in the Federal Register an announcement that OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information collection associated with the Ensuring Continuity of 911 Communications Report and Order’s consumer disclosure requirement.
In the Report and Order, the Commission created new section 12.5 of the rules to place limited backup power obligations on providers of facilities-based fixed, residential voice services that are not line-powered to ensure those providers meet their 911 access and service obligations during outages. It further required those providers to offer new subscribers the option to purchase backup solutions to power outages to enable 911 calls for at least 8 hours, and offer at least one option that provides a minimum of 24 hours to 911 service within three years of the effective date of the 8 hour obligation. All of the covered providers must explain at point of sale available backup power options and how the subscriber can extend the backup power through devices and other equipment.
The Commission included a small provider exemption for compliance with these rules. For covered providers with fewer than 100,000 domestic retail subscriber lines, the effective date of the obligation was extended an additional 180 days to ensure enough time to modify their current practices to comply with the rules. The obligation for providers to offer 8 hours of backup power would become effective 300 days after publication in the Federal Register. The 24 hour backup power obligation is effective on the same extended three-year schedule.
The Commission previously announced the wrong compliance date for providers with fewer than 100,000 domestic retail subscriber lines as of April 1, 2017. This document changes the date to February 1, 2017, effective immediately.
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