1 Overview of Wireless Service Levels in California Michael Aguilar Regulatory Analyst Policy Analysis Branch Communications Division California Public Utilities Commission January 7, 2011

2 Wireless E9-1-1 Service in California is governed by: FCC Order requirements on wireless service providers to deliver calls to the local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), if the PSAP requests it Public Utilities Code (PUC) Section 2892(a) which requires calls to be delivered at no charge for airtime, access or similar usage charge and without the need for user validation or a service subscription PUC Section 2892(b) which governs what California agency has the authority to take the wireless call

3 All Wireless calls are routed by carriers to the California Highway Patrol (CHP) unless three things occur, as defined by PUC 2892(b): 1.the local PSAP agrees to take wireless calls -- some do not 2.the call is not from a freeway or highway -- CHP’s authority 3.the CHP agrees to have the carrier re-route the call to the local PSAP -- some cell sectors overlap highway and local jurisdiction

4 The Warren-911 Emergency Assistance Act gives primary authority to the California Emergency Communications Office (9-1-1 Office) for implementation, funding and operational standards governing California’s system. The Office plays the key role of coordinating the parties needed to implement wireless service: the CHP local PSAPs wireless service providers -- who deliver the calls to the wireline network for delivery to the CHP or PSAP Network and Database Managers (AT&T and Verizon) -- who establish the routing keys required to deliver wireless calls through the wireline system

5 The Office Wireless E9-1-1 Project -- Objectives: Preparing all California public safety answer points (PSAPs) to accommodate the information to be delivered by wireless carriers under Phase I and Phase II of the FCC Order. Phase I specifies that the telephone number and receiving cell site or sector of the caller be delivered to the PSAP. Phase II adds a more precise location, (usually with meter accuracy or better) in the form of latitude/longitude coordinates, to the Phase I information. On September 7, 2007 California became 100 % compliant with deployment of Phase II cell sites in Mariposa and Lassen counties. A major emphasis of the wireless project is the redistribution of statewide wireless call volumes from the CHP to local PSAPs

6 The Office RED Project -- Routing on Empirical Data In 2007, 42% of wireless calls received busy signals or failed to get answered Many of the calls answered by the CHP had to be transferred to local PSAPs with jurisdiction for the call -- causing unnecessary delay to emergency response The RED project is an analysis of actual caller locations by cell sector, to determine the jurisdiction where the majority of calls originate. Slide one: Wireless calls from one cell sector in Ventura County Slide two: CHP and Local PSAP calls identified The CHP and local PSAP review the historical data of each cell sector to determine whether rerouting from CHP to the local PSAP is needed

7 Slide one: Wireless Calls from one cell sector in Ventura County

8 Slide two: CHP and Local PSAP calls identified

9 RED Project Accomplishments and Statistics: 2007 – 2010 time period As of June 30, % of cell sectors were accepted for re-routing to local PSAPs -- reducing call transfers and improving response times As of October 2010, the number of wireless calls receiving a busy signal or failing to be answered dropped from 42% to 5% The number of successfully processed wireless calls went from 11.6 Million to an expected 14.2 Million The CHP increased their call taking ability from 3.5 to 6.9 Million The number of calls processed by Local PSAPs has more than doubled from 3.1 to 6.6 Million Please refer to the Office handout on the RED project