Wireless Subcommittee Minutes

Wireless Subcommittee Minutes

of the

E911 Advisory Committee

King County E911 Office

7300 Perimeter Road South, Seattle

September 18, 1997 – 9 a.m.

Present: Marlys Davis, Wireless Committee Chair, King County; Allen Jakobitz, Bob Oenning, Ken Back, Penelope Christopherson and Hank Cramer, State E911 Office; David Griffith, UTC; Doug Gehrke, US West; Lynn Mell, XYPOINT; Darold Whitmer, SCC; Vanessa Pegueros, Nextel; Al Kear, GTE; Glenn Kuhn, GTE Wireless; Dave Stachelski, GTE NW; Mel Boston, CENCOM; John Wilding, Pierce County 911; Laura Altschul and Dave Nye, Western Wireless; Charlie Van Zandt, AirTouch Cellular; Gary Bowman, Thurston County 911; Kevin Kearns, King County Emergency Management; Patty Johns, Lewis County 911; Steve Reinke, Kittcom; Chris Fischer, Valley Com. Conference Call Attendees: Thera Bradshaw, Clark County; Chuck Orr, Sprint PCS.

1. Approval of August 21, 1997 meeting minutes

Approved as written.

2. Issues Raised at the Sept. 5 State 911 Coordinator Forum in Republic, WA

Discussion took place on following items raised at the Coordinator=s Forum this past month:

• Selective Routing Connectivity

Some counties indicated they are not presently using selective routers (Pend Oreille, Chelan). Both counties are located in GTE territory. GTE indicated they are installing selective routers in Everett, Skagit, Benton and Chelan this fall with Coeur d=Alene scheduled for the first quarter of >98, so both counties will be served by selective routers prior to Phase I.

• Survey public about acceptability of taxes

Darold Whitmer, SCC, shared that their survey about public willingness to pay a wireless tax to have ALI displayed with 911 calls.The SCC survey determined how much the public was willing to pay for the 911 service, not whether they would pay for it. Thera Bradshaw, Clark County, doesn=t feel a tax hike will be supported.

• Phase I and II Availability to PSAPs

Steve Reinke, Kittitas County, indicated that his county was probably not going to ask for Phase II.

• State contract with wireless carriers on behalf of counties

GTE Wireless was concerned with what happens if we don=t do something on a statewide level with state funding. GTE is concerned that every county will come up with what they would like a wireless carrier to provide and that there may be as many as six carriers providing six different solutions in one county. GTE seeks a uniform standard, both technologically and financially, that is acceptable to all 911 Washington communication centers. GTE wants a solution modeled after wireline.

• Funding for Phase II

Darold Whitmer, SCC, reminded members that when wireline was built it was built with up-front costs nationwide. These costs were then passed on to the subscriber. Government needs to set the standard and equalize the costs paid by the subscriber. Doug Gehrke, US West, stated with a 911 tax, government controls quality. Counties may need to increase the number of call receivers to handle wireless calls, which take three times as long to process over wireline calls.

• Tax Parity for Wireline/Wireless

Western Wireless stated tax parity is important, because there is no current parity between wireline and wireless. AT&T supports a statewide tax.

3. 1998 Legislation Discussion

Marlys Davis distributed two handouts: a draft of proposed rule changes to RCW 38.52 and RCW 82.14B, and a copy of Chap. 80.04, Public Utilities, Regulations–General.

She explained that legislation is presently set up on a county basis, funded through local taxes with a state tax also implemented. Consensus was reached at the 911 Coordinator=s Forum that this funding mechanism needs to be kept status quo or legislation will fail. It is the consensus of the wireless subcommittee to support parity for wireless and wireline taxes.

The proposed draft RCW language revision will be presented to the Advisory Committee on Sept. 25.

4. Discussion on Projected Costs of Phase II Service and 911 Network Upgrades

Bob Oenning, State E911 Office, distributed a handout he compiled entitled, Summary, 9/17/97, Total Costs Years 1999 through 2003. The figures are based on the total projected cost of the upgrades which are currently covered by statute.

5. Discussion on State and County Tax Rates to be Proposed in Legislation for Wireline and Wireless

Several assignments were made to determine trunking costs for the Oct. 16 meeting.

Bob Oenning=s cost projections, documented in a handout entitled, Cellular Location Estimates in Washington State, were discussed at length and were distributed at previous wireless subcommittee meetings. This document can also be found on the Internet under the NENA website (www.nena9-1-1.org/washington/cellfram.html).

6. Report from UW West on Phase I Interconnection

Doug Gehrke reported that AirTouch has installed CellTrace and is doing a dry run by Oct. 5 at the King County tandem. This is10-digit ANI, not Phase I. All CellTrace boxes will be installed statewide by the end of September with the exception of Pasco which should be installed by the end of November.

7. Report from GTE on Phase I Interconnection

Al Kear reported that they are moving forward on the Oregon trial with AirTouch and Western Wireless.

8. Report from Wireless Companies on Delivery of Phase I Service

AirTouch Cellular: still evaluating Phase 1 for the 1st quarter >98.

AT&T Wireless Services: Deliver ANI with CellTrace as an interim solution to providing ANI. Moving forward with Oregon trial with GTE. Phase I will be available 1st quarter >98.

Blue Mountain Cellular: No report.

GTE Wireless: ready to provide Phase I any time.

Inland Cellular Telephone Company: No report.

NEXTEL: no update.

NEXTWAVE Telecom: No report.

Sprint PCS: No report.

United States Cellular: No report.

Western Wireless: Has a test system, but no service until next year.

9. Report on Status of NENA standards for ALI Screen

The standards are not yet finalized. The NENA standard for display is dependent on CPE and CAD systems being in place for Phase I.

10. Update from Wireless Companies on Which Counties in Washington State Have Ordered Phase I Service

Allen Jakobitz reported no updates were given him.

Other

Marlys Davis still needs a GTE and AT&T contact to serve on the Security Subcommittee. AirTouch provided Marlys with documented security procedures, responding to certain situations. Marlys asked for county PSAP representation.

The next meeting is scheduled at the King County 911 Office at the King County Airport, 7300 Perimeter Road, South, Seattle on Thursday, October 16, 1997 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Future meetings will be held from 9 to 12 at the King County 911 Office on Nov. 13 and Dec. 11.

Assignments Made

• Hank Cramer, State E911 Office, will set up a meeting with wireline carriers to diagram trunking from the mobile switching center to the tandem to determine network costs for the Oct. 16 meeting.
• Hank Cramer, State E911 Office, will lead a group of county people to look at CAD equipment cost projections for the Oct. 16 meeting. Lewis, Pierce and Kitsap counties volunteered to be part of that group.
• AT&T and GTE Wireless will forward a contact to Marlys to serve on the wireless subcommittee dealing with security issues.
• Darold Whitmer, SCC, will follow up on NENA standards for ALI.