ARCHIVED - Telecom Decision CRTC 2013-124

PDF version

Ottawa, 14 March 2013

CISC Emergency Services Working Group – Consensus report regarding the In-Call Location Update feature trial and implementation

File number: 8621-C12-01/08

Emergency telecommunications services, including 9-1-1, are critical to the health and safety of Canadians. The Commission considers that an effective 9-1-1 system that meets the needs of citizens is an important part of ensuring that Canadians have access to a world-class communications system. Accordingly, the Commission is continuously looking for ways by which the 9-1-1 emergency system may be enhanced.

A trial of a feature that allows 9-1-1 operators to request an update to a wireless 9-1-1 caller’s location, referred to as the In-Call Location Update (ICLU) feature, was recently conducted in Prince Edward Island. The Commission considers that the ICLU feature would improve the 9-1-1 service provided to Canadians, and that it should be implemented nationwide as expeditiously as possible.

The Commission therefore directs wireless carriers and incumbent local exchange carriers to make the necessary changes to their networks, systems, and processes to support the provision of the ICLU feature within six months of the date of this decision.

Background

1. In CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee – Stage 2 features of wireless Phase II E9-1-1 service implementation, Telecom Decision CRTC 2009-697, 6 November 2009, the Commission requested the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee (CISC) Emergency Services Working Group to develop and implement, as an enhancement to wireless 9-1-1 service, a feature that would allow public safety answering points to request updated location information associated with a wireless 9-1-1 caller. The updated location information enables 9-1-1 call takers to receive the new location of a caller who, for example, is in motion or has changed location, and therefore assist emergency agencies in responding to the emergency. This feature is referred to as the In-Call Location Update (ICLU) feature.

2. On 14 December 2012, the CISC Emergency Services Working Group submitted the following consensus report to the Commission for approval:

• ICLU Trial Evaluation Report, 27 November 2012 (ESRE0062) [the Report]

3. The Report can be found under the “Reports” section of the Emergency Services Working Group page, which is available under the CISC section of the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca.

4. In the Report, the Emergency Services Working Group concluded that the ICLU trial, which took place in Prince Edward Island in June 2012, was a success and that the ICLU feature would improve the 9-1-1 service provided to Canadians. As a result, the Emergency Services Working Group, by consensus, recommended that all wireless service carriers, incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), and public safety answering points implement the ICLU feature across Canada.

5. The Report provided estimated implementation time frames of two to six months from the date of Commission approval for wireless carriers and ILECs to support the provision of the ICLU feature. The Report further noted that the estimated implementation time frames also vary for public safety answering points, and some of them may require up to 29 months to complete the critical changes required to support the provision of the ICLU feature.

6. The Commission considers that the ICLU feature would improve the 9-1-1 service provided to Canadians and that it should be implemented nationwide as expeditiously as possible. Further, the Commission considers that setting an implementation deadline is appropriate, and that six months is sufficient for both wireless carriers and ILECs to make the necessary changes to their networks, systems, and processes to support the provision of the ICLU feature.

7. The Commission therefore approves the recommendations in the Report and directs all wireless carriers and ILECs to make the necessary changes to support the provision of the ICLU feature within six months of the date of this decision.

8. The Commission notes that the implementation of the ICLU feature in a given area is dependent on the ability of the public safety answering point, responsible for responding to 9-1-1 calls for the area, to support the feature. The Commission therefore encourages municipal and provincial governments to expeditiously make the necessary changes to their public safety answering point systems to support provisioning of the ICLU feature.

Policy Direction

9. The Policy Direction¹states that the Commission, in exercising its powers and performing its duties under the Telecommunications Act (the Act), shall implement the policy objectives set out in section 7 of the Act in accordance with paragraphs 1(a), (b), and (c) of the Policy Direction.

10. The Commission considers that its findings in this decision advance the telecommunications policy objectives set out in section 7 of the Act, including paragraphs 7(a), (b), (f), and (h).² The Commission further considers that in accordance with subparagraph 1(a)(ii) of the Policy Direction, the measures in question are efficient and proportionate to their purpose and interfere with competitive market forces to the minimum extent necessary to meet the policy objectives noted above. In this regard, the Commission notes that its findings are based on the Report of the Emergency Services Working Group, which, by consensus, recommended that all carriers be mandated to implement the ICLU feature. Further, consistent with subparagraph 1(b)(iii) of the Policy Direction, the Commission considers that its directions in this decision will be implemented in a symmetrical and competitively neutral manner.

Secretary General

Date modified:

2013-03-14