Under Section 506 of RAY BAUM’S Act, the Commission has now adopted rules to ensure that “dispatchable location” is conveyed with 911 calls to dispatch centers, regardless of the technological platform used, including 911 calls from MLTS. The term “dispatchable location” means a location delivered to the PSAP with a 911 call that consists of the validated street address of the calling party, plus additional information such as suite, apartment or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party. This act applies to all MLTS that are manufactured, imported, offered for first sale or lease, first sold or leased, or installed after February 16, 2020. Compliance deadlines are defined as January 6, 2021 and January 6, 2022, depending on the nature of the device from which the MLTS 911 call originates.
Effective Jan. 6, 2022 an additional provision will be enacted to ensure that the dispatchable location or alternative location information from MLTS on-premises, non-fixed devices and off-premises devices shall be provided.
Additional steps are recommended to achieve compliance:
- Legal guidance where needed. Non-compliance will include fines and other penalties, along with the risk of endangering employees, customers, and members of the public and associated law- suits and civil liabilities.
- Updating of emergency location information for all employees and users to the site specific requirements of the law.
- Equitable support for mobile and softphone workers.
- Review of Wi-Fi on campus compliance.
- Successful testing and documentation of new services.
- Designation of a working team to support long term database compliance efforts.
The Communications Strategies consulting team is available to assist with projects associated with the Ray Baum Act and Kari’s Law.
