A model for emergency service of VoIP through certification and labeling.

• Author: Lookabaugh, Tom

1. INTRODUCTION II. EXISTING MODELS FOR CERTIFICATION A. Theory and Practice of Certification B. Certification Examples 1. Underwriters Laboratories and Product Safety Certification 2. Telecommunications Certification: CableLabs and Telcordia 3. Meta-Standard Certification: ISO 9000 4. Certification for Consumers: The Wi-Fi Alliance 5. Self-Regulation and Voluntary Agreements in Environmental Policy 6. Certification Evolves: Telecommunications Certification Bodies 7. An Expanded Role for Enforcement 8. Certification Processes C. Implications for VoIP Emergency Service Certification III. TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT A. Emergency Services and the PSTN B. Emergency Services and Wireless C. VoIP Technology 1. VoIP Parameters 2. VoIP Signaling D. Emergency Services for VoIP E. Technology Requirements IV. TRENDS IN CERTIFICATION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION: A BRIEF VIEW OF THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN APPROACHES A. Different Approaches to Product Liability B. Technological Development Will Forge Ahead in the Face of (Pre)caution C. Government Must Respond by Encouraging Self-Regulation D. An Ounce of Precaution is Better Than a Pound of Precaution, Particularly When the Opportunity is Lost V. A PROPOSED MODEL A. Institutional Design 1. Industry Should Organize 2. A Separation of Powers Should be Established 3. Industry and Government Should Work Hand in Hand B. Technical Approach C. Labeling VI. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION

   Voice over Internet Protocol ("VoIP") promises to upend a century-old model of voice telephony by creating a more dynamic marketplace and by changing the point of control from the central office switch to the end user's device. The transformation to VoIP is only in its very early stages, and it will ultimately impact all sectors of the telecommunications services industry, including traditional incumbent local exchange carders, cable providers, wireless service providers, and emergency service providers. In fact, all of the relevant stakeholders affected by VoIP (e.g., service providers, hardware and software vendors, customers, and governmental agencies) share a great need to analyze the issues raised by the transition from the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network ("PSTN") to a packet-switched, Internet Protocol-based ("IP") architecture. For example, service providers and hardware and software developers are struggling to understand and take advantage of opportunities in this area involving new technology prospects (e.g., integrated messaging and mobile collaboration). Moreover, business, governmental, and residential consumer users of telecommunications equipment and services are seeking guidance on when and how to upgrade to a new technological frontier. Finally, governmental agencies are struggling to ensure that social policy concerns will be addressed in this very different technological environment.

   The social policy implications of VoIP present regulators and incumbent businesses with an unusual dilemma, forcing them to choose from amongst mutually exclusive--and equally unfavorable--options. Under the current PSTN-based voice telephone network, many critical policy goals, such as the provision of reliable emergency services, are implemented effectively and reliably. However, most VoIP services, at least as they exist today, do not deliver the same level of quality and dependability as emergency services. In response, some state regulators have considered passing regulations requiring VoIP to meet legacy and other requirements, regardless of the dramatic differences in the VoIP service's technical and business models. (1) The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") has only begun to develop its regulatory VoIP strategy, although former Chairman Michael Powell made it clear that the strategy would need to differ from the legacy model used in the PSTN context, a position likely to continue in successor FCC administrations. (2) With these thoughts in mind, it is unclear how VoIP services might evolve in a meaningful and timely fashion.

   In a number of specific circumstances, however, self-regulation can be a viable alternative to government regulation. Certification, in particular, can be provided by a self-regulatory body as evidence of conformance to required attributes, practices, or policies. Self-regulation has a number of potential advantages, and in the case of VoIP emergency services, we are particularly interested in recognizing information asymmetries between industry and government, given the increase in complexity and heterogeneity inherent in the move from PSTN to VoIP. In order for self-regulation to be viewed as a credible alternative and in order for it to ultimately succeed, it needs to be situated within a careful institutional framework that includes (1) a clear and consistent external motivation (e.g., an incentive in terms of third-party liability); (2) a process for determining the specifications to be certified; (3)identification of certifiers and determination if a competitive market for certification exists; (4) reference to an appropriately neutral accrediting party--a role that government can but does not have to fill; (5) communication of certification to users; and (6) policing of certification. The telecommunications industry has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to self-regulate in areas of interoperability where economic motivation can be relied on to incentivize the activity. In this case, though, the industry should self-regulate in order to address a social policy goal. Success in this area could even help self-regulation become a tool that could be applied in other areas of social policy, especially in the development of new policy initiatives that would otherwise be imposed through government regulation of telecommunications, as has traditionally been the case.

   The particular technical challenges surrounding VoIP emergency services arise from two major drivers: variability and location. VoIP can be seen as a much more variable service than traditional PSTN-based telephony, and many new business models and technical combinations are emerging in which quality, methods of initiating and terminating calls, integration with other messaging technologies, (3) and types of terminals (e.g., phones, PDAs, and PCs) have all become heterogeneous. For emergency services in particular, IP networks are fundamentally location independent, and VoIP services may run on IP networks over many different types of wired and wireless access. (4) As a result, these realities challenge a fundamental modern expectation: that an emergency services dispatcher can identify the caller's location even if the caller does not know the location or is not able to describe it. Although substantial technical progress is being made regarding the provision of emergency services in various VoIP settings, users may not be able to determine prior to an emergency whether the particular service they are employing is capable of emergency service. Accordingly, labeling should be used as a means of specifying the particular level of emergency service capability provided, in recognition of the fact that VoIP's diversity will preclude a single common requirement for all possible VoIP services. Also, an emergency service testing capability should be made available to the end user.

   This Article will describe the technical issues surrounding emergency service in VoIP, examine the status of proposed technical strategies, (5) and identify candidate criteria to be used in certification. Furthermore, this Article will examine the theories behind and examples of successful certification within self-regulatory regimes, including (1) the use of certification in product safety; (2) the use of certification in particular by Underwriters Laboratories acting as certifying institutions; (3) ISO 9000 quality system certification; (4) interoperability certification within the telecommunications industry through Cable Television Laboratories and Telcordia; (5) the Wi-Fi Alliance as a consumer-oriented certification consortium; and (6) general experience with self-regulation in environmental policy. In the end, this Article will synthesize these insights in order to propose specific recommendations on institutional design, technical criteria, and the certification process.

2. EXISTING MODELS FOR CERTIFICATION

   This Part presents the results of secondary research into existing certification processes. Drawing on historical analysis and literature review techniques, this research incorporates the collection and analysis of original descriptions, outcomes research on certification processes, and research on the manner in which these processes have been embedded in overall policy systems including government regulation. In the end, this Part offers an overall model for successful certification tailored to the particular technical and industrial circumstances of VoIP.

   1. Theory and Practice of Certification

      Well-established certification processes are used in professions, such as medicine and law to accredit practitioners, in securities markets by underwriters and auditors, and in product safety and compatibility arenas. More recently, certification and, more broadly, self-regulation have emerged in new social policy settings (e.g., the certification of a manufacturer's compliance with labor practice expectations in developing countries or with specific environmental practices). Substantial research has created a reasonable understanding of the purpose of certification, as well as of its challenges and drawbacks.

      Certification can have both economic and social policy goals. In economic terms, products or services may have attributes, such as quality or safety, that buyers have difficulty ascertaining prior to the purchase. As a result, consumers oftentimes cannot distinguish between products, a situation that leaves little incentive for companies to include the attributes in the first place. Although reputation...