Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a draft of a decision regarding E911 in the state as it relates to MLTS PBX (News - Alert) systems. There is a great concern in the state that the majority of multiline telephone systems are not properly provisioned for E911 systems and the state wanted to do something about it.

Independent reports from both AVAYA and the state itself indicated that up to 70 percent of PBX/MLTS systems faced this problem, as E911 initiatives are purely voluntary in the state at this point. The PSAPs in California have shown that this voluntary provisioning is not working, as they have faced many inaccurate caller locations due to these systems.

While a great deal of the report is taken up with educational materials, there are several orders included in the draft as well. First, the Communications Division of the CPUC plans to take all reasonable action toward raising awareness of this issue throughout the state. Also, the Governmental Affairs and the Communications Division will worth together to foster adoption of effective legislation requiring proper E911 location reporting from MLTS-PBXs.

In addition, the decision states that local exchange carriers and other parties are encouraged to alert their current and prospective customers about these issues, and they are also required to update their 911 tariffs to inform customers about provisioning options to ensure accurate caller location. Once the decision is voted on and accepted, the legislature of California can begin making policy to ensure the safety and security of all of its citizens in regard to emergency responders.