STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER ROBERT M. McDOWELL RE: Wireless E911 Location Accuracy Requirements (PS Docket No. 07-114); Revision of the Commission’s Rules to Ensure Compatibility with Enhanced 911 Emergency Calling Systems (CC Docket No. 94-102); Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International, Inc. Request for Declaratory Ruling; and 911 Requirements for IP-Enabled Service Providers (WC Docket No. 05-196), Report and Order, FCC 07-166 At the outset, I thank the Chairman and my colleagues for your efforts to forge consensus on this important matter. I also thank all of the participants for sharing your knowledge on the highly technical issues discussed in this proceeding. It is especially poignant that we are taking action to further improve Enhanced 911 on Patriot Day. I thank our nation’s bravest for their selfless service to all of us. Passions are high. We all agree that wireless E911 service must satisfy the needs of public safety personnel, as well as the expectations of America’s wireless consumers. This is especially important because the percentage of Americans living in cellphone-only households recently reached 14 percent, overtaking for the first time the percentage in landline-only households, which stands at 12.3 percent. Given this growth, I agree that an aggressive time table is in order. On the other hand, as I stated in May, we must walk before we can run. Since that time, a broad array of entities – wireless service providers, technology vendors and public safety – have told us that we are not yet in a position to devise a plan for rolling out a system of improved wireless E911 location accuracy. I hope that these predictions turn out to be incorrect. Ideally, I would have preferred that the Commission complete its own in-house testing and verification prior to our implementing benchmarks that may be unachievable at best, or, inefficient. At the same time, I am eager to ensure that consumers and first responders alike will benefit from the latest location-capable wireless technologies. I have every expectation that the Commission will be a part of a meaningful partnership among the commercial wireless industry, technology providers, and public safety entities that will ensure the best possible access to E911 location information for the benefit of wireless callers and emergency response providers in as expeditious a time frame as possible. I continue to believe that harnessing the expertise of all interested stakeholders in this manner will serve the public interest and move all of us ahead to quickly solve these technology challenges in a straightforward, comprehensive and transparent manner.