NEWS 
Federal Communications Commission 
445 12th Street, S.W. 
Washington, D. C.  20554 
 
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. 
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). 
 
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:    NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: 
January 10, 2013      Matthew Berry, 202-418-2005 
        Email: Matthew.Berry@fcc.gov   
 
 
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND 
HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU’S DERECHO REPORT 
When Americans dial 9-1-1, they must be able to reach first responders without delay or 
difficulty whether that call is placed because of a derecho, a tornado, an earthquake, a flood, a 
hurricane, or a personal emergency.  I therefore look forward to studying the recommendations 
contained in the report released today by the staff of the Public Safety and Homeland Security 
Bureau and thank them for their hard work.  I also am eager to receive and to review the input of 
all affected stakeholders.  Those of us in the public sector must work together with those in the 
private sector to prevent future disruptions to 9-1-1 communications. 
 In that vein, today’s report notes that had Next Generation 9-1-1 “architectures and 
capabilities been in place in the [areas affected by the derecho], they likely could have 
significantly lessened the derecho’s impact on emergency communications.”  NG 9-1-1 will 
improve the safety of the American people, and it is a critical component of the all-IP world just 
over the horizon.  That is one more reason why I look forward to working with my colleagues 
and the public safety community to facilitate a successful IP transition—beginning with our 
recommendations to Congress, due next month, on the appropriate legal framework for NG 9-1-1 
services.1   
   
 
   
 
                                            
1 See Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, § 6509