CRTC sets new next-gen 911 implementation deadlines

The CRTC is setting new deadlines for the implementation of next-generation 911 networks and services after delaying due to the pandemic. The regulator said in a decision Monday next-gen or NG911 providers will have until March 1, 2022, to “among other things, establish their NG911 networks, complete all NG911 production onboarding activities, and be ready to provide NG911 Voice, wherever public safety answering points (PSAPs) have been established in a particular region.” By that same date, telecommunications service providers (TSPs) will have to have made the necessary changes to support NG911 Voice in their originating networks that are technically capable of supporting the service, including completing all NG911 production onboarding and testing activities. They will also have to start providing NG911 Voice to eligible customers that day, wherever answering points have been established. As for real-time text-based NG911, the commission said it is not establishing new deadlines at this time. Instead, it is requesting the CRTC Interconnection Steering Committee file a report once standards are sufficiently advanced related to real-time text callback and bridging. Meanwhile, NG911 network providers will have to file proposed NG911 wholesale and retail tariffs no later than November 1, 2021. In April 2020, the CRTC pushed back a series of deadlines around the implementation of NG911 services due to the pandemic, deciding around the same time to delay other proceedings as well. At the time, it set the new deadline for carriers to upgrade their NG911 service and have it operating by spring of this year, instead of the original deadline of December 31, 2020. In September, the CRTC requested comments on the new deadline suggestions. For the most part, telecom providers indicated they generally agreed with new deadlines, though there were varying perspectives on dates for decommissioning the existing 911 network. In addition to the other deadlines set Monday, the CRTC will require incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) to decommission their existing network components that will not be part of their NG911 networks by March 4, 2025 -- instead of March 30, 2024 -- and is adjusting the deadlines for the CISC Emergency Service Working group to file certain reports over the next few years. The regulator is also directing Northwestel Inc. to tell it by June 22 of this year whether or not it will comply with the new NG911 deadlines it has announced or file for CRTC approval -- by October 1, 2021 -- for an updated transition plan. That plan would include the location of NG911 points of interconnection and timelines for the establishment of an NG911 network in its incumbent territory.

CRTC sets new next-gen 911 implementation deadlines

Brief | June 14, 2021

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CRTC sets new next-gen 911 implementation deadlines

Brief | June 14, 2021

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