HB 186-911 SURCHARGE ON WIRELESS TELEPHONES    Representative Kevin Meyer, bill sponsor, testified that HB 186 allows municipalities to impose the same surcharge on wireless phones as is currently charged on hard line phones in order to help pay for enhanced 911 services. Wireless or cell phones comprise about 25 percent of the 911 calls made today and the number is rising. The enhanced 911 system provides a visual location and telephone number of the individual making the 911 call. This is particularly helpful for those individuals who are not able to articulate that information. It provides the technology, equipment and staffing necessary for fast response time and automatic routing to the appropriate emergency response unit. With wire line phones, Anchorage is currently able to impose an E 911 surcharge of up to 50 cents while all other communities may impose up to a 75 cent monthly charge. This was made possible by an enabling state statute passed in 1994 that covered wire line phones only. The enhanced 911 surcharge is not unique to Alaska; in fact, many Lower 48 cities have surcharges far in excess of those in Alaska. It is needed to help cover the cost for cities to purchase and maintain equipment and technology to provide adequate emergency services. This is a priority for Anchorage, Fairbanks and Kenai all of which are anxious to implement enhanced 911 service for wireless phones this summer or fall. The wireless carriers AT&T, ACS and GCI have all been very supportive. He called attention to the letters of support in committee packets. Senator Lincoln joined the meeting. SENATOR AUSTERMAN asked how many wireless phones would be assessed the enhanced fee so he could get an idea of what is currently going on and what the increase would be. He also wanted to know what the total increase has been for 911 calls if 25 percent of those calls are now coming from cell phones. Are there fewer calls coming from wire line phones with the increase in cell phone use? Originally, the enabling state statue passed in 1994 was for wire line phones. He wondered whether the 50 and 75 cent surcharges were still realistic due to the volume of phones and subscribers. REPRESENTATIVE MEYERS said that was a good question and Mr. Rogers with the Municipality of Anchorage would be able to answer that question. He surmised the original statute was designed to purchase equipment and technology and the support staff to maintain it. With the wireless, new equipment would need to be purchased so the surcharge would go toward those purchases. DAN YOUMANS testified via teleconference as an AT&T wireless representative in support of HB 186. The combination of cell phones and 911 network has created a new and vital communication system for AT&T customers. They support a reasonable and equitable surcharge on the customers to help defer the cost of 911 services. With this in mind, they support a 50 cent maximum surcharge for all municipalities. The technology and services for cell phones is very different from wire line phones so they feel the charge should be the same for all areas. Since cell phones are mobile and 911 calls could be made from any location, all wireless customers should pay the same amount. Cost recovery would only apply when municipalities are in a position to offer new, enhanced 911 services for wireless phones. In the future, 911 operators will be able to receive the phone number of the wireless caller the location of the cell site that is connecting the call and eventually, the approximate location of the caller. Since the new technologies benefit the general public, they feel that wireless carriers should have some mechanism for recovering their costs. HB 186 says they would be able to recover those costs as specified by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). The legislation cites the FCC order on this issue. CHAIRMAN TORGERSON asked, "Your testimony is that the 50 cents is just to pay for the hardware?" MR. YOUMANS said the 50 cents would pay for needed upgrades and the general cost of serving people who are calling 911 on their cell phones. When new technology and upgrades are needed at the 911 operator level and by the carriers, they have the need to recover those upgrade costs. SENATOR AUSTERMAN said the bill allows municipalities to assess the surcharge so they may have the enhanced 911 service. He asked whether he heard correctly that they expected to recover their costs for service and what service was that? MR. YOUMANS said there are two phases of the new services as defined by the FCC. The first phase allows the 911 operator to receive the phone number of the wireless phone caller. It also allows the wireless operators to receive the location of the cell site that is connecting the call. The second phase will give the approximate location of the caller, which is a vital safety tool for the operator. SENATOR AUSTERMAN asked Mr. Youmans to call his office at (907) 465-2487 so he could have a one to one conversation. DOUGLAS ROBINSON with the Municipality of Anchorage testified via teleconference that he would be providing statistics, some of which applies to the State of Alaska. There are currently 30 states with legislation authorizing the collection of wireless 911 surcharges. The charges vary from 35 cents to $2.00 and that revenue is used to assist financing equipment, software upgrades for the E 911 public safety answering points. Specific uses for the revenues could be: · For modifying the existing P-SAP software so the wireless X,Y coordinate location data provided by the wireless carriers can be displayed and tracked by 911 call takers · Purchase required data interfaces for P-SAP computer aided dispatch system of larger P-SAPs such as in Anchorage and Fairbanks · Network upgrades between the 911 system and the local exchange carrier The surcharge is strongly endorsed by the Association of Public Safety Communication Officers (APSCO), National Emergency Number Association (NENA). APSCO has recommended Anchorage as a model city for phase 2 wireless 911 implementation. THERESA HILLHOUSE, Anchorage Municipal Attorney's Office, was available for questions. MARK MEW, Deputy Chief of the Anchorage Police Department, testified that about 250,000 calls per year come through their dispatch center and a large portion of those come through the E 911 system. The system was sized for wire line service. Cell phone use has proliferated and a study conducted four years ago determined that 25 percent of the calls were coming in via cell phone. He believes they are now approaching 50 percent. Due to the large number of cell phone users, a single event will trigger multiple calls. Wire line users are paying for the 911 service while cell phone users are not. SENATOR LINCOLN asked how many lines are designated for the E-911 lines and how many would be added if the surcharge is instituted and is the 50 cent surcharge sufficient. MR. MEW thought the number is eight trunks. About 50 calls will jam the dispatch center and it's not unusual to receive that many calls at once. A consultant would need to determine the number of additional lines to put in. The 50 cent charge does not cover costs now; it merely helps to offset the charges. He anticipates the cell phone surcharge will help but not cover costs completely. Currently, the surcharge covers about half the costs and he does not know the percentage the cell surcharge would cover. STEVE O'CONNOR testified via teleconference as the Kenai Peninsula 911 Advisory Committee Chairman. They have had an enhanced 911 system since the early 1990s. Since that time cell phone call volume has increased from 5 percent to about 50 percent. They are dealing with the same difficulties as Anchorage with multiple calls for a single incident causing a 911 overload. They currently collect 75 cents per line per month for wire line and recommend the same fees for wireless phones. Fees offset the costs of operation but don't cover them. The borough is budgeting $350,000 to $400,000 for Phase 1 and they view the 75 cent surcharge as important. Local government is in the best position to decide what the fee should be. TIM ROGERS, Legislative Program Coordinator for the Municipality of Anchorage, thought he could answer some of Senator Austerman's questions. Recently, the Anchorage voters approved a bond issue for $1.5 million to pay for necessary cellular upgrades for the E-911 service. That will cover consultants, hardware and software that will be needed but not operational costs. The current surcharge pays for roughly 40 percent of total operating costs and nothing toward capital costs. There are estimated to be 200,000 cell phones in Alaska. SENATOR AUSTERMAN asked how the 200,000 relates to volume. MR. ROGERS did not know but currently the annual surcharge collected in Anchorage is around $1 million so an answer could be figured mathematically. MARK JOHNSON, Chief of Emergency Medical Services for the Department of Health & Social Services, said there might be too many calls coming in from urban areas but calls from outside an urban area from a caller who does not know their location is difficult, time consuming and potentially life threatening. The rationale for the difference in fees is that smaller communities have fewer phones to collect fees from so a higher surcharge is necessary. If the fee is only 50 cents then some small communities may not be able to afford the upgrades. SENATOR LINCOLN asked for an explanation of 911 available referred to in his letter. MR. JOHNSON said there are many Alaskan communities with basic 911 service but there is no information available on who is calling and from where. The enhanced feature provides the telephone number of the caller and the location. SENATOR LINCOLN asked if the list provided was for wire line or wireless. MR. JOHNSON said the list provided was for wire line. SENATOR LINCOLN said fourteen communities that are listed as having 911 capabilities and she sincerely doubts that they have that the ability to dial 911. She named Red Devil and Crooked Creek as examples. MR. JOHNSON said she might be correct. The data was lifted from a recent McDowell Group study. SENATOR AUSTERMAN asked for assurance that the option to charge a 75 cent surcharge was currently in the bill. CHAIRMAN TORGERSON said it mirrored the wire line surcharges. SENATOR PHILLIPS moved HB 186 and zero fiscal note from committee with individual recommendations. There was no objection.