RD192 - Annual Report of the Commonwealth of Virginia Wireless E-911 Services Board


Executive Summary:
The Code of Virginia (§ 56-484.14) requires the Wireless E-911 Services Board (the Board) to report annually to the Governor, the Senate Committee on Finance, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Virginia State Crime Commission on the following:

(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.

The state of enhanced wireless emergency telecommunications services in the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth has maintained its national leadership in the deployment of wireless E-911 services. Wireless enhanced 9-1-1 (E-911) Phase I service, where the caller's telephone number and the address of the cell site are provided to the public safety answering point (PSAP), is almost complete, with over 99% of all wireless subscribers now being provided the service. The few localities that are not completed are among the most rural Virginia localities and are aggressively working toward deployment. They are also many of the same localities still working to deploy wireline E-911.

The deployment of wireless E-911 Phase II, which provides the PSAP with the caller's actual location by longitude and latitude, is also nearing completion, due to the hard work and dedication of the PSAPs and telecommunications service providers. Phase II service is now available to 97% (up from 93% in FY2005) of wireless telephone service subscribers in the Commonwealth. The wireless service providers and all of the localities involved should be commended for their efforts to protect the public. While Phase II is not 100% accurate, the locations provided are typically within 50 to 300 meters, with some calls actually showing the caller's location within a matter of a few feet. It is not the same as wireline E-911, but it does provide the 9-1-1 call taker with a valuable tool to quickly locate a caller in need of emergency assistance, especially if the caller is unfamiliar with their location.

With the deployment of Phase II many of the wireless service providers opted for a handset-based Phase II solution, which uses a global positioning system (GPS) chip in the telephone to locate the caller. As more PSAPs and providers deploy Phase II service, focus has shifted to encouraging subscribers to replace their existing handset with one that has a GPS chip. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required that each provider choosing to use a handset solution have 95% of their customer base converted to the GPS-equipped handsets by December 31, 2005. Though all of the providers missed this target, Verizon Wireless announced they were the first major provider to meet this milestone on May 26, 2006. With most other providers between 90% and 95%, it shows that the vast majority of consumers have upgraded to the requisite handsets to take advantage of Phase II service.

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

Because of the changes passed by the General Assembly in Senate Bill 395 during the 2006 session, the Wireless E-911 Services Board is not recommending any legislative changes for the 2007General Assembly Session.

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

The Wireless E-911 Fund remains fiscally sound. With the legislative changes made during the last legislative session, the funding process has been substantially changed. Since the revised process, which utilizes a formula-based distribution methodology, is new for FY2006, it will take time to determine if future funding levels are adequate. However, projections indicate that the $0.75surcharge is adequate to sustain historical funding levels to each locality. Additionally, the 2006 legislative changes added a grant program to assist the localities in most need, which may have had difficultly funding future equipment replacements under the old funding process.

It should be noted that the Appropriations Act for 2006-2008 continues the transfer of $3.7 million from the Wireless E-911 Fund to the Virginia State Police. However, 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. Continuing the appropriation to the State Police after they are no longer taking the wireless 9-1-1 calls could jeopardize the eligibility of the Commonwealth and all of the localities for federal E-911 grant funding. While there is no federal appropriation to support this grant program yet, federal legislation passed in early 2006 earmarks $42 million from a radio spectrum auction for the program in the 2008 federal budget. If this transfer were to cease, the amount of funding provided to the localities would increase proportionally.

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

The FY2002-2004 biennial budget includes a $9.8 million appropriation from the Wireless E-911 Fund to assist the 37 localities that did not have E-911 as of July 1, 2000 with the deployment of wireline E-911. This funding was allocated to each of the localities. At this time, no additional funding is required.

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.