Current through February, 2024
Section 1.0
Authority
This rule is adopted pursuant to Vt. Act 125 (2020) and
30 V.S.A. §
7053.
Section 2.0 Purpose
The purpose of this rule is to establish protocols for the
Enhanced 911 Board (the Board) to obtain information about or be apprised of,
in a timely manner, system outages applicable to wireless service providers, to
providers of facilities-based, fixed voice service that is not line-powered,
and to electric companies for the purpose of enabling the Board to assess 911
service availability during such outages. This rule also updates and
incorporates existing protocols for the Board to obtain information about or be
apprised of, in a timely manner, system outages applicable to facilities-based,
fixed voice service that is line-powered.
Section 3.0 Definitions
3.1 Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS): A
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designation for any carrier or licensee
whose wireless network is connected to the public switched telephone
network.
3.2 Electric Power
Company: A company that provides distribution of electricity to residential
and/or business customers.
3.3
Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC): A class of carriers as defined in
47 U.S.C. §
251(h) which includes, but
is not limited to, Rural Local Exchange Carriers (RLECs).
3.4 Originating Carrier (OC): Also known as
originating service provider, an entity that provides voice services to a
subscriber. An OC includes ILECs operating in Vermont.
3.5 Outages
3.5.1 Originating Carrier Outage (OCO): Any
known degradation or loss of network elements, systems, services and/or
transport facilities that prevent the OC's subscribers from being able to
complete a call to, or communicate with, 911, or prevents subscribers from
receiving emergency notifications. An OCO includes any loss of 911 calling
capacity caused by such an OC's network failure.
3.5.2 Wireless Service Outage (WSO): Any
known degradation or loss of network elements, systems, services and/or
transport facilities that prevent the subscribers of a wireless service, also
known as cellular service, from being able to complete a call to, or
communicate with, 911, or prevents subscribers from receiving emergency
notifications. A WSO includes any loss of 911 calling capacity caused by such a
wireless service network failure.
3.5.3 Electric Power Outage: Any known
failure, failures, or circumstances that prevent the electric power company
from distributing electricity to residential and/or business
customers.
3.6 System
Provider: An entity that provides the systems and support necessary to enable
911 calling for one or more Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in a
specific geographic area.
3.7 Voice
Service: A service that provides voice transmission services. These services
are provided over a network that transmits any combination of voice, video
and/or data between users. Voice service is provided by an OC that could be a
facilities-based fixed voice service that is line powered, a facilities-based
fixed voice service that is not line powered, or a Commercial Mobile Radio
Service provider.
3.8 ZIP code: The
five-digit postal code established by the United States Postal Service. For
purposes of this rule, a ZIP code associated only with (A) a Post Office box,
or (B) a single physical address, shall be deemed part of the nearest ZIP code
not meeting the descriptions of (A) or (B) of this definition for determining
thresholds and reporting purposes.
Section 4.0 Notification Requirements for
Originating Carriers
4.1 An ILEC providing
voice service in the State of Vermont shall report to the 911 system provider
and the Board any known OCO lasting at least 30 minutes that limits or prevents
25 or more subscribers in a served geographic area within Vermont, such as a
town or community, from completing calls to, or communicating with,
911.
4.2 All other facilities-based
fixed voice service OC's providing voice service in the State of Vermont shall
report to the 911 system provider and the Board any known OCO that lasts at
least 30 minutes and limits or prevents (A) 100 or more subscribers in a single
ZIP code or (B) at least 50% of subscribers in a ZIP code with fewer than 100
subscribers, from completing calls to, or communicating with, 911.
4.3 OC's shall make an initial notification
as required under sub sections 4.1 or 4.2 within one hour of discovery of the
OCO; a second notification within two hours of discovery, and shall provide
additional updates as they become available, or at the request of the Board.
4.3.1 The initial OCO notification shall
include, to the extent that it is known, the following information:
* OC name
* Affected geographic area identified by ZIP code, town,
county, or community name
* Brief description of the limitation of 911 calling
capability
* Contact Name (presumed non-public)
* Contact Phone (presumed non-public)
* 24/7 contact if different from above contact (presumed
non-public)
4.3.2 The
second OCO notification shall further include, to the extent that it is known,
the following information:
* Affected ZIP code and associated readily identifiable
descriptive term that would enable validation of the ZIP code, such as the name
of a town, county, community name, or similar term
* Approximate subscriber physical locations - including town
or community name
* Approximate number of affected subscribers
* Date and time outage began
* Estimated date and time for restoration of service
* General cause (for example - fiber cut, equipment failure,
or similar general description)
* Description of the limitation of 911 calling capability:
(for example -subscribers are receiving dial-tone and can make calls to other
local subscribers but cannot complete calls to 911).
4.3.3 A restoration of service report shall
be provided to the 911 system provider and the Board within two hours of
resolution of the outage and shall include, to the extent it is known, the
following information:
* Actual restoration time
* The call back number(s) of any subscribers that attempted
to reach 911, but were unable to do so, due to the outage, if available.
(exempt from public disclosure)
* Any other information requested in the initial and second
notifications that was previously unavailable or unverified such as general
cause, or number of affected subscribers.
4.4 All Commercial Mobile Radio Service
(CMRS) OC's providing voice service in the State of Vermont shall report to the
911 system provider and the Board any known WSO that lasts at least 30 minutes
and limits or prevents the OC's subscribers in at least 50% of the OC's
coverage area within a single ZIP code from completing calls to, or
communicating with, 911.
4.4.1 CMRS providers
shall make an initial notification as required under subsection 4.4 within one
hour of discovery of the WSO; a second notification within two hours of
discovery, and shall provide additional updates as they become available, or at
the request of the Board.
4.4.2 The
initial WSO notification shall include, to the extent that it is known, the
following information:
* CMRS provider name
* Affected geographic area identified by ZIP code, town,
county, or community name Brief description of the limitation of 911 calling
capability
* Contact Name (presumed non-public)
* Contact Phone (presumed non-public)
* 24/7 contact if different from above contact (presumed
non-public)
4.4.3 The
second WSO notification shall further include, to the extent that it is known,
the following information:
* Affected ZIP code and associated readily identifiable
descriptive term that would enable validation of the ZIP code, such as the name
of a town, county, community name, or similar term
* Approximate subscriber physical locations - including town
or community name
* Approximate number of affected subscribers
* Date and time outage began
* Estimated date and time for restoration of service
* General cause (for example - fiber cut, equipment failure,
or similar general description)
* Description of the limitation of 911 calling capability:
(for example -subscribers are receiving dial-tone and can make calls to other
local subscribers but cannot complete calls to 911).
4.4.4 A restoration of service report shall
be provided to the 911 system provider and the Board within two hours of
resolution of the outage and shall include, to the extent it is known, the
following information:
* Actual restoration time
* The call back number(s) of any subscribers that attempted
to reach 911, but were unable to do so, due to the outage, if available.
(exempt from public disclosure)
* Any other information requested in the initial and second
notification that was previously unavailable or unverified such as general
cause, or number of affected subscribers.
4.5 The Board may request additional details
about the cause of an OCO or WSO and any mitigating steps taken to prevent
future outages of a similar nature. All OCs shall work cooperatively with the
Board to provide the level of detail needed to assist the Board in its
assessment of an OCO or WSO and its impact on access to 911 for the affected
subscribers.
Section 5.0
Notification Requirements for Electric Power Companies
5.1 Electric power companies shall provide a
detailed monthly report on all outages affecting 25 or more customers and
lasting 8 or more hours to the Board by the 15th of each month.
5.1.1 Quarterly reporting may be allowed if,
in the judgment of the Board, that frequency will allow for sufficient and
timely information gathering.
5.2 The monthly reports will be provided in
CSV, XML, Excel, or other importable dataset accepted by the Board, and will
include, at a minimum:
* Date and time of outage
* Date/time of restoration of service
* Approximate number of affected customers
* Location of outage and approximate subscriber physical
locations including identification of street or section of road, if available,
and town or community name.
* Cause of the outage.
Section 6.0 Confidentiality
6.1 Information submitted as required by sub
sections 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3 and 4.4.4 is presumed to be
public information unless otherwise noted in each section.
6.1.1 Submitters of information required by
sub sections 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.3, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3 and 4.4.4 will be
notified of all public records requests for the information.
6.2 Submitters of information that
may be required by Section 4. 5 will be notified of all public records requests
for the information and provided an opportunity to mark information they
believe to be exempt from public disclosure under Vermont Public Records Law.
6.2.1 When requesting that material be
considered exempt from disclosure, the submitter shall identify the specific
information they request not be disclosed and provide an explanation of why the
subsection of 1 V.S.A. §§ 315-320 upon which they rely applies. Such
requests may be considered but are not binding on the Board in responding to
public requests.
Section
7.0 Effective Date
7.1 Mandatory
outage reporting will begin as soon as originating carriers and electric power
companies are technically capable of providing the information but no later
than six months after adoption of the final rule.
Section 8.0 Enforcement
8.1 Pursuant to
30 V.S.A. §
7061(a), the Enhanced 911
Board may file a civil action for injunctive relief in Washington County
Superior Court to enforce this rule, and recover its costs and reasonable
attorneys' fees in the event that the Board prevails in the action.
Vt. Act 125 § 25(2020) and 30 V.S.A. §
7053
