RD136 - Annual Report of the Commonwealth of Virginia Wireless E-911 Services Board (2004)


Executive Summary:
This reports satisfied the reporting requirements of both the Wireless E-911 Board (§ 56-484.14 of the Code of Virginia) and Virginia Information Technologies Agency (Item 467 A. of Chapter 4, Appropriations Act, Special Session I, 2004).

During FY2004, the Wireless E-911 Services Board (the Board) met six times, two more times than required by the Code of Virginia. During that time, the Board has:

• completed $9.8 million of funding for the Virginia Base Mapping Initiative including digital orthographic photography and street centerlines for the entire Commonwealth;
• conducted the audit of FY2003 funding provided as required by Code (125 localities, 12 wireless service providers);
• approved 123 public safety answering points (PSAPS) for FY2005 funding (approximately$15.6 million);
• approved nine (9) wireless service providers for FY2005 Phase I funding including Phase II costs;
• implemented an on-line application for funding submissions; and
• conducted a citizen survey with the VCU Center for Public Policy to determine the need for public education within the Commonwealth.

In addition, the Board is currently processing the audit of FY2004 funding received by the localities and wireless service providers.

Section 56-484.14 of the Code of Virginia requires the Board to:

7. Report annually to the Governor, the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Virginia State Crime Commission on (i) the state of enhanced wireless emergency telecommunications services in the Commonwealth, (ii) the impact of, or need for, legislation affecting enhanced wireless emergency telecommunications services in the Commonwealth, (iii) the need for changes in the Wireless E-911 funding mechanism as appropriate, and (iv) the sufficiency of other moneys appropriated for the provision of enhanced wireline emergency telecommunications services only in those local jurisdictions not wireline capable as of July 1, 2000.

Additionally, Item 467, Item A of the 2004-2006 Biennial Budget requires the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) to:

A. Virginia Information Technologies Agency shall provide a status report on the utilization and status of monies held and anticipated in the E-911 Fund by November 1, of each year to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees.

This report is to satisfy both of these requirements.

The state of enhanced wireless emergency telecommunications services in the Commonwealth

The implementation of wireless enhanced 9-1-1 (E-91 1) Phase I, the caller telephone number and the address of the cell site, is nearing completion with 103 localities completed with deployment. Over 95% of all wireless subscribers now have wireless E-911 Phase I service. Every PSAP in the Commonwealth has committed to the full deployment of wireless E-911 and is aggressively pursuing deployment. Many of the localities still working toward Phase I deployment were the localities having to deploy wireline E-911 first. All wireless service providers are providing the Board with a monthly report indicating progress and any issues delaying implementation. These reports are public and are posted on the Board's website (www.va9l I.org) to allow public review.

The deployment of wireless E-911 Phase II, which provides the PSAP with the caller's actual location by longitude and latitude, has continued aggressively throughout the Commonwealth. On August 29, 2003, the first two localities completed Phase II deployment, City of Hampton and Orange County. Currently, nearly 50 localities have completed the deployment of Phase II. While not 100% accurate, the locations provided are within 50 to 300 meters with some calls actually showing the caller's location within a matter of a few feet. Many of the wireless service providers opted for a handset-based Phase II solution, which uses a global position system (GPS) chip in the telephone to locate the caller. As more PSAPs and providers deploy the service, focus shifts to encouraging subscribers to replace their existing handsets with one that has the requisite chip. The wireless service providers and all of the localities involved should be commended for their efforts. Their commitment to public safety reaffirms Virginia's place as a national leader in the delivery of 9-1-1 services.

The impact of, or need for, legislation affecting enhanced wireless emergency telecommunications services in the Commonwealth

A number of legislative issues have arisen during the past year. The following is a list of the legislative issues being recommended for consideration during the 2005 General Assembly Session:

1) modify cost recovery language to remove possible constitutional conflict;
2) Federal, state and local government exemption
3) remove the exemptions to E-911 deployment that are no longer needed;
4) modify wireless surcharge collection methodology and definition for prepaid wireless service;
5) change the timeline for the end of year audit and explicitly address underpayments; and
6) clarify the appeal of Board decisions to the circuit court applies only to subsection G of §56-484.17.

A complete discussion of each change is presented below.

The need for changes in the Wireless E-911 funding mechanism as appropriate

The Wireless E-911 Fund is fiscally sound. It had a fund balance of just over $26 million at the end of FY2003, which was $20 million less than the fund balance at the end of FY2002. The fund balance was further reduced to $15 million by the end of FY2004. Most of this funding is required for the FY2005 appropriation. Projections indicate that the $0.75 surcharge is appropriate to fund statewide deployment of wireless E-911, if the $3.7 million annual funding of the State Police is continued. It should be noted that by the end of FY2004, almost all local PSAPs were taking the wireless E-911 calls directly thus removing the original justification for providing the funding to the State Police. If this expense to the fund is eliminated, the surcharge could be reduced to $0.65.

The sufficiency of other moneys appropriated for the provision of enhanced wireline emergency telecommunications services

The last biennial budget includes a $9.8 million appropriation from the Wireless E-911 Fund to assist localities with the deployment of wireline E-911. To ensure that localities could receive the funding as quickly as possible, the Board adopted funding guidelines in March 2002 and began receiving funding requests in May. The Board has granted funding requests in the amount of the entire $9.8 million to all 37 localities eligible for the funding (those that did not have E-911 by July 1, 2000). As of the end of FY2004, a total of $6.7 million has been distributed. The Board is distributing the funding to each locality, as they need it rather than providing it based on vague estimates. As contracts are negotiated or firm pricing is received the amounts are forwarded to the Board for consideration. The localities still receive the funding before contracts are signed and purchase orders are issued, but only after a definitive cost is determined. This prevents the locality from receiving either too much or too little funding, which would need to be resolved at the end of the project.

The following sections of the report provide a more detailed analysis of the current state of E-911 in the Commonwealth exploring both wireless and wireline implementations.