The FCC approved NET-911 Act rules with no new requirements for dual-mode phones. The order is a major victory for T-Mobile, which feared duties that couldn't be carried out -- perhaps endangering its Unlimited Hotspot Calling service, which uses Wi-Fi/GSM handsets. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin sharply criticized the decision. The other four commissioners demanded removal of the dual-mode provision from the proposed order circulated by Martin, FCC sources said. The proposal that Martin circulated would have made clear the law guarantees carriers access to "last cell site" information. The next likely step would have been forcing T-Mobile and other carriers with dual-mode phones to negotiate agreements with all roaming partners so they would always have information on the cell site most recently "registered" by customer phones while in a partner's service territory. nnThe FCC should have imposed the roaming requirements Martin proposed, he said. "I am troubled that today's decision could leave mobile VoIP customers without adequate 911 service when they roam outside their service providers' footprint," Martin said. "In these instances, the service providers do not have access to 'last known cell' information that they may need to deliver the call to the appropriate local emergency operator and to provide accurate location information to the appropriate public safety officials." The FCC correctly made no decisions on dual-mode phone rules, Commissioner Michael Copps said. "I wish we had addressed this question long ago, before mobile VoIP became a marketplace reality," he said. "But there is a right way and a wrong way to proceed. The truth remains that today we do not know if 'last known cell' or some other technology (or perhaps some combination of approaches) will best protect American consumers."
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