STATEMENT OF 
COMMISSIONER ROBERT M. McDOWELL
Re: Proposed Extension of Part Four of the Commission’s Rules Regarding Outage 
Reporting To Interconnected Voice Over Internet Protocol Service Providers and 
Broadband Internet Service Providers, PS Docket No. 11-82, Report and Order (FCC 12-
22)
Today, the FCC acts to collect important data regarding service outages experienced by 
interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers and, more importantly, their customers.  My 
colleagues and I agree on the vital importance of voice calls, especially those to 9-1-1.  All Americans 
rightly expect their emergency calls to go through even though most may not be aware of the technologies 
involved, how the systems operate or their regulatory treatment.  I am grateful to all of the commenters 
for sharing their important insights and marketplace experiences regarding network outage reporting in 
response to last year’s notice of proposed rulemaking.
 
Given its narrow scope, I am voting to approve today’s order.  Although our notice of proposed 
rulemaking discussed an array of regulatory mandates, today we adopt reporting requirements only in 
instances of a complete loss of interconnected VoIP service.  There is a longstanding recognition that 
ensuring clear and effective communications in times of emergency is a key aspect of the Commission’s 
mission.  Collecting data on significant outages from VoIP providers will help the Commission in its duty 
to ensure the reliability and resiliency of our nation’s 9-1-1 voice systems, consistent with Congress’s 
mandate set forth in Section 615a-1 of the Communications Act.  Moreover, in the reporting context, we 
put VoIP providers on par with wireline and wireless voice service providers, who already submit this 
information to the Commission and have for some time.  
 
It is important to emphasize that we are not imposing these rules on broadband service providers, 
whether wireline or wireless.  As I have stated many times before, the Commission does not have the 
legal authority to regulate broadband in such a way.  I thank the Chairman for his willingness to accept 
edits to provide greater clarity regarding the narrow scope of the rules we adopt today, as well as to curtail 
the possibility of broadening their applicability. I have every confidence that industry will continue to 
work with the Commission on network outage matters for the benefit of protecting the safety and security 
of the American people.      
As always, I thank the folks in the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau for your 
diligence and thoughtful work.