Federal Communications Commission DA 11-1125
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Wireless E911 Location Accuracy Requirements
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PS Docket No. 07-114
ORDER
Adopted:  June 28, 2011 Released:  June 28, 2011
By the Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau:  
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Sections 20.18(h)(1)(vi) and (2)(iii) of the Commission’s rules state in relevant part that 
wireless carriers using either network-based or handset-based location technologies to measure location 
accuracy for 911 calls “must file a list of the specific counties or portions of counties where they are 
utilizing th[eir] exclusion[s] within 90 days following approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget [OMB] for the related information collection.”1 OMB approved these reporting requirements on 
March 30, 2011, setting June 28, 2011, as the 90-day deadline for carriers to file the exclusion 
information (Exclusion Reports).  In this order, for the reasons set forth herein, we clarify certain issues 
regarding the content of the Exclusion Reports, and we extend the 90-day period for filing Exclusion 
Reports by 30 days, until July 28, 2011.  The extension will promote the public interest by providing 
public safety entities and the public with more accurate and informative Exclusion Reports while 
facilitating the Commission’s monitoring of carrier compliance with location accuracy benchmarks and 
timelines. 
II. BACKGROUND
2. On September 23, 2011, the Commission adopted the E911 Location Accuracy Second 
Report and Order in PS Docket No. 07-114, amending Section 20.18(h) of its rules to require wireless 
licensees subject to standards for wireless Enhanced 911 (E911) Phase II location accuracy and reliability 
to satisfy these standards at either a county-based or Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP)-based 
geographic level.2 The Commission took this step to ensure an appropriate and consistent compliance 
methodology for measuring the location accuracy of wireless calls to 911.
3. The E911 Location Accuracy Second Report and Order adopted timelines and 
benchmarks for network-based and handset-based wireless carriers to comply with the amended location 
  
1 See 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h)(1)(vi) (applying to carriers using network-based technologies); 47 C.F.R. § 
20.18(h)(2)(iii) (applying to carriers using network-based technologies).
2 Wireless E911 Location Accuracy Requirements, PS Docket No. 07-114, Second Report and Order, 25 FCC Rcd 
18909 (2010) (E911 Location Accuracy Second Report and Order) (amending 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h)).
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accuracy requirements.3 In addition, the order allowed wireless carriers to exclude certain areas from the 
Commission’s requirements depending upon whether they use handset-based or network-based 
approaches.  For carriers using network-based technologies, the order permitted exclusion of particular 
counties, or portions of counties,4 where triangulation of the geographical position of a 911 emergency 
call is not technically possible, such as locations where at least three cell sites are not sufficiently visible 
to a handset.5 For wireless carriers using handset-based technologies, the order permitted the exclusion of 
up to 15 percent of counties or PSAP service areas from the 150-meter requirement based upon heavy 
forestation that limits handset-based technology accuracy in those counties or PSAP service areas.6 The 
order required carriers to identify and report all excluded areas to the Commission, and also to submit 
such reports to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the Association of Public-Safety 
Communications Officials-International (APCO), and the National Association of State 9-1-1 
Administrators (NASNA).7
4. On November 18, 2010, a summary of the E911 Location Accuracy Second Report and 
Order was published in the Federal Register.8 The Federal Register notice announced January 18, 2011, 
as the effective date of the amended location accuracy rules, except for the rules “contain[ing] 
information collection requirements that have not been approved by OMB.”9 On March 30, 2011, OMB 
approved the rules for the information collection requirements.  Based on the date of OMB’s approval, the 
90-day deadline for filing reports falls on June 28, 2011.  On April 28, 2011, the Commission published a 
notice of OMB’s approval in the Federal Register.10  
5. Since OMB’s approval of the information collection requirements, we have received 
informal inquiries from carriers regarding the reporting deadline, as well as questions seeking clarification 
on certain aspects of the content of the Exclusion Reports.  First, some carriers have expressed uncertainty 
regarding whether the 90-day period for filing Exclusion Reports was triggered by the March 30, 2011 
date of OMB’s approval of the information collection or the April 28, 2011 publication of OMB’s 
approval in the Federal Register.  Second, some carriers have requested clarification regarding the 
recommended format and content of the Exclusion Reports and whether certain information must be 
included, e.g., whether carriers are required to list counties, portions of counties, or PSAP service areas 
where they have not yet received a valid PSAP request for E911 Phase II service.
  
3 See 47 C.F.R. 20.18(h)(1)(i)-(v) (applying to carriers using network-based technologies); 47 C.F.R. 20.18(h)(2)(i)-
(ii) (applying to carriers using handset-based technologies).
4 See E911 Location Accuracy Second Report and Order, 25 FCC Rcd at 18926 n.122 (explaining that “counties” 
also includes “boroughs, parishes, and similar political boundaries.”).
5 See 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h)(1)(vi).
6 See 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h)(2)(i)-(ii).  Under the two-year benchmark for carriers using handset-based technologies, 
67 percent of Phase II calls must be accurate to within 50 meters, on a per-county or per-PSAP basis and 80 percent 
of Phase II calls must be accurate to within 150 meters.  See 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h)(2)(i).  Under the eight-year 
benchmark for carriers using handset-based technologies, the location accuracy parameter for 150 meters changes to 
90 percent of Phase II calls.  See 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h)(2)(ii).  Under both benchmarks, the permitted 15 percent 
exclusion applies to the 150 meter location accuracy requirement.  See 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h)(2)(i)-(ii).
7 See E911 Location Accuracy Second Report and Order, 25 FCC Rcd at 18920, 18926 ¶¶ 28, 45.
8 75 FR 70604.
9 See id. (referring to 47 C.F.R. §§ 20.18(h)(1)(vi), 20.18(h)(2)(iii), and 20.18(h)(3)).
10 See 76 FR 23713.
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III. DISCUSSION
6. The Commission may, on its own motion, waive its rules for good cause shown.11 The 
Commission may exercise its discretion to waive a rule where particular facts would make strict 
compliance inconsistent with the public interest and grant of a waiver would not undermine the policy 
served by the rule.12 Based on the particular circumstances and matters that have arisen subsequent to the 
Commission's adoption of the E911 Location Accuracy Second Report and Order, we conclude that a 
waiver of the 90 day period following OMB’s approval of the information collection requirement for 
filing Exclusion Reports is appropriate until July 28, 2011.  We find that this waiver is warranted to 
ensure efficient and thorough reporting of the exclusions that some carriers will be claiming and will 
enable the Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (Bureau) to commence 
monitoring location accuracy compliance consistent with objectives and requirements of the E911 
Location Accuracy Second Report and Order.
A. Clarification of Exclusion Report Requirements
7. As noted above, we find that further clarifications for filing the Exclusion Reports will 
assist carriers in meeting the reporting requirements under Sections 20.18(h)(1)(vi) and (2)(iii) of the 
Commission’s rules.  First, we address whether carriers must include counties, portions of counties, or 
PSAP service areas where they have not yet received a valid PSAP request for E911 Phase II service.  We 
note that under Section 20.18, a carrier’s obligation to furnish E911 Phase II service rests on whether a 
PSAP first makes a valid request—that is, if the PSAP “is capable of receiving and utilizing the data 
elements associated with [Phase II service] and a mechanism for recovering the [PSAP’s] costs . . . is in 
place.”13 If the underlying Phase II service has not been deployed to the PSAP, the carrier cannot deliver 
the required location information and therefore is not capable of testing and measuring Phase II location 
accuracy and reliability pursuant to the requirements of Section 20.18(h).14 We therefore clarify that if a 
wireless carrier has not received a valid PSAP request for E911 Phase II service and accordingly has not 
deployed E911 Phase II service pursuant to Section 20.18, the carrier should not list the county, or portion 
thereof, or the PSAP service area in its listing of exclusions in its Exclusion Report.  However, once a 
PSAP makes a valid request for E911 Phase II service and a carrier deploys Phase II service but still 
determines that it cannot meet the applicable location accuracy requirements, the carrier must file an 
updated report, pursuant to either Section 20.18(h)(1)(vi) or Section 20.18(h)(2)(iii), within thirty days of 
the date of deployment to reflect such a change.15
8. With respect to carriers using handset-based location technologies, the E911 Location 
Accuracy Second Report and Order provides that carriers may exclude up to 15 percent of counties or 
PSAP service areas from the 150 meter location accuracy standard based upon heavy forestation.16 We 
  
11 47 C.F.R. § 1.3.  See also ICO Global Communications (Holdings) Limited v. FCC, 428 F.3d 264 (2005);
Northeast Cellular Telephone Co., L.P. v. FCC, 897 F.2d 1164, 1166 (D.C. Cir. 1990) (Northeast Cellular) (“FCC 
has authority to waive its rules if there is ‘good cause’ to do so.”); WAIT Radio v. FCC, 418 F.2d 1153, 1157 (D.C. 
Cir. 1969) (Wait Radio), aff'd, 459 F.2d 1203 (D.C. Cir. 1972), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1027 (1972).
12 See Wait Radio, 418 F.2d at 1157 (holding that the FCC may exercise its discretion to waive a rule where 
particular facts would make strict compliance inconsistent with the public interest); Northeast Cellular, 897 F.2d at 
1166 (stating that in granting a waiver, an agency must explain why deviation from the general rule better serves the 
public interest than would strict adherence to the rule).
13 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(j).
14 See 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h).
15 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 20.18(h)(1)(vi) and (2)(iii) (requiring changes to the exclusion lists to be filed within thirty days 
of discovering such changes).
16 See 47 C.F.R. § 20.18(h)(2)(i)-(ii).
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clarify that this exclusion does not apply to a 15 percent area of either a county or a PSAP service area.  
Instead, the 15 percent exclusion in Section 20.18(h)(2)(i)-(ii) permits carriers to exclude up to 15 percent 
of counties or PSAP service areas that are served by the carrier.17
9. Next, we note that the first location accuracy benchmark for network-based carriers is 
January 18, 2012.18 We clarify that network-based carriers that anticipate that they will not be able to 
meet the first benchmark may file a waiver request after the deadline for filing their Exclusion Reports, 
provided that they file the request in a timely manner to afford the Commission sufficient time to act on 
the request in advance of the first benchmark deadline.  We find that the timely filing of a request for 
waiver relief is sufficient to meet the “expectat[ion] that carriers failing to meet any particular benchmark 
will promptly inform the Commission”19 without prematurely overburdening our administrative processes 
to handle such requests.
10. Further, to assist us in monitoring and evaluating carrier reporting of exclusions, we 
advise wireless carriers to file Exclusion Reports in a narrative format with a table or appendix that 
provides a detailed listing of the excluded areas.  The narrative portion of the report should include the 
following information:20
Ø A description of whether the wireless carrier is using network-based or handset-based 
technologies at the time of filing the Exclusion Report.
Ø A supporting affidavit from an officer or director of the wireless carrier, who serves as the official 
or contact person having chief oversight responsibility for monitoring the overall status of 
location accuracy compliance under Section 20.18(h).  This affidavit should include the date of 
filing and the official’s title, business address, and phone number. 
11. The table or appendix to the Exclusion Report should include the following information: 
Ø A list of the counties or portions of counties, or PSAP service areas, as applicable, for which the 
wireless carrier is claiming an exclusion in accordance with the applicable rules.  
Ø For each excluded area, a brief description of the reason for the exclusion, e.g., insufficient 
number of cell sites in the area to support network-based triangulation; GPS-assisted location 
accuracy is limited due to heavy forestation.
12. In addition to the above, carriers may include other explanatory information in their 
Exclusion Reports to support their selection of excluded areas.    
13. We further advise carriers that they must update their Exclusion Reports to report any 
changes to the list of counties, or portions of counties, and PSAP service areas being excluded.  Such 
  
17 The Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc. and the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association have 
submitted a Petition for Rulemaking (Petition) seeking modification to 20.18(h)(2) of the Commission’s rules to 
permit carriers serving six or fewer counties or PSAP service areas to exclude any or all of these counties from the 
150 meter requirement based on heavy forestation.  Petition at 3-4 (filed Jan. 20, 2011 with the Commission’s Office 
of the Secretary).  Alternatively, the Petition requests that, if the Commission retains the 15 percent exclusion from 
the 150 meter requirement, the Commission should allow exclusion on a sliding scale for carriers serving six or 
fewer counties so that such carriers may exclude at least one county.  See id. at 4 & n.6. This Petition is currently 
pending.
18 47 C.F.R. §§ 20.18(h)(1).
19 E911 Location Accuracy Second Report &Order, 25 FCC Rcd at 18927 ¶ 48.
20 See E911 Location Accuracy Second Report &Order, 25 FCC Rcd at 18919-20, 18926-27 ¶¶ 27-28, 44-46 
(concerning the information that both handset-based and network-based carriers must include in the Exclusion 
Reports).     
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changes may include additions to or deletions from the initial list of excluded areas and must be submitted 
in PS Docket No. 07-114 within 30 days of such changes.21  
B. Extension of Time to File Exclusion Reports
14. To provide carriers with time to conform their Exclusion Reports to the guidance 
provided above, we waive the rules on our own motion and extend the filing deadline from June 28, 2011 
to July 28, 2011.  This extension also addresses uncertainty that may have been caused by the April 28, 
2011 notice in the Federal Register of OMB’s approval of the information collection, by providing 
carriers with 90 days from that date to file their reports.  We find that granting this limited waiver relief 
will allow carriers to submit more complete, responsive, and consistent information and will reduce the 
likelihood that the Commission will need to obtain supplemental information from carriers following the 
filing of the initial Exclusion Reports.
15. We also find that granting this limited extension will not undermine the policy underlying 
the requirement that carriers file timely Exclusion Reports.  The purpose of the requirement is to “ensure 
that the public safety community and the general public are aware of instances where carriers cannot meet 
the Phase II location accuracy requirements, and prevent overuse of [the] exclusion.”22 Extending the 
filing date for a brief period will improve the quality of the information provided to the public safety 
community and the public with minimal delay in their ability to access the information.  Further, the 
extension will not adversely affect the Bureau’s ability to monitor carriers’ performance and progress in 
meeting the Commission’s location accuracy requirements consistent with the established timelines and 
benchmarks and to “request status information, if necessary.”23 We therefore conclude that the public 
interest in providing wireless carriers with sufficient time to file accurate Exclusion Reports outweighs 
the need for strict adherence to the original deadline.
C. Exclusion Report Filing Procedures 
16. As specified in Section 20.18(h) and subject to the waiver relief granted herein, carriers 
must file their Exclusion Reports as follows: 
· Electronic Filing: Carriers must file their Exclusion Reports electronically in PS Docket No. 07-
114 by accessing the Electronic Comment Filing System: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/ or the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
· People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities 
(braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202–418–0530 (voice), 202–418–0432 (tty).
· Copies of Exclusion Reports: Carriers must send copies of their Exclusion Reports to the National 
Emergency Number Association, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-
International, and the National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators, at the contacts listed 
below:
o The National Emergency Number Association (NENA): Trey Forgety, Director of 
Government Affairs, National Emergency Number Association, tforgety@nena.org.
  
21 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 20.18(h)(1)(vi), (2)(iii).
22 E911 Location Accuracy Second Report and Order, 25 FCC Rcd at 18920, 18926 ¶¶ 28, 45 (stating this purpose 
with regard to both handset-based and network-based location technologies).
23  Id. at 18920, 18927 ¶¶ 28, 48.
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o The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO): 
Stephen J. Wisely, Director Comm Center & 9-1-1 Services Department, 
Wiselys@apcointl.org. 
o The National Association of State 9-1-1 Administrators (NASNA): 
richard.taylor@nc.gov.  
17. For further information contact Patrick Donovan, at (202) 418-2413 or 
Patrick.Donovan@fcc.gov.
IV. PROCEDURAL MATTERS
18. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.  This document does not contain new or modified 
information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 
104-13.  Therefore it does not contain any new or modified “information burden for small business 
concerns with fewer than 25 employees” pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 
Public Law 107-198.  On March 30, 2011, the reporting requirements for filing the lists of exclusions 
were approved as a new collection under OMB Control No. 3060-1147, as set forth in the Appendix to 
this Order.  Also, on May 23, 2011, OMB approved the Commission’s request that an extension of the 
filing date for the Exclusion Reports was either not a material or was a nonsubstantive change to the 
approved collection, OMB Control Number: 3060-1147.
V. ORDERING CLAUSES
22. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that pursuant to Section 4(i) the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. § 154(i), and Section 1.3 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.3, THIS 
ORDER in PS Docket No. 07-114 is ADOPTED.
23. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the 90 day period for filing Exclusion Reports as 
specified by Sections 20.18(h)(1)(vi) and (2)(iii) of the rules IS WAIVED and that the filing date IS 
EXTENDED to July 28, 2011, as set forth herein.
24. This action is taken under delegated authority pursuant to Sections 0.191 and 0.392 of the 
Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.191, 0.392.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James Arden Barnett, Jr., Rear Admiral (Ret.)
Chief, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau
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APPENDIX
FCC NOTICE REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT 
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. § 3507), the FCC is notifying 
the public that it received OMB approval on March 30, 2011, for the collection of information described 
in this Public Notice.  Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to be 11.85 
hours (average) per response, including the time for reviewing reporting instructions; searching existing 
data sources; gathering and maintaining the data needed; coordinating with the necessary third party 
entities, including state and local authorities and PSAPs; and completing and reviewing the collection of 
information.  This collection of information is for the purpose of assisting the Commission in carrying out 
provisions of the E911 Location Accuracy Second Report and Order, PS Docket No. 07-114, FCC 10-
176, released September 23, 2010, and published in the Federal Register on January 18, 2011, at 75 FR 
7604.  Send comments regarding this burden estimate, or any other aspect of this collection of 
information, including suggestions for reducing the burden to Federal Communications Commission, 
AMD-PERM, Washington, DC 20554, Paperwork Reduction Project (3060-1147), or via the Internet to 
PRA@fcc.gov.  DO NOT SEND THE EXCLUSION REPORTS TO THIS ADDRESS.
Under 5 CFR § 1320, the Federal Communications Commission may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.  No person shall be 
subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a currently valid OMB Control Number.  This collection has 
been assigned OMB Control Number 3060-1147, and its expiration date is March 31, 2014.
THE FOREGOING NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995, 
PUBLIC LAW 104-13, OCTOBER 1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507.