2020 Arkansas Code
Title 12 - Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, and Military Affairs
Subtitle 2 - Law Enforcement Agencies and Programs
Chapter 10 - Communications Systems
Subchapter 3 - Arkansas Public Safety Communications and Next Generation 911 Act of 2019
§ 12-10-303. Definitions

As used in this subchapter:

1. (1) “Access line” means a communications line or device that has the capacity to access the public switched network;

2. (2) “Automatic location identification” means an enhanced 911 service capability that enables the automatic display of information defining the geographical location of the telephone used to place the 911 call;

3. (3) “Automatic number identification” means an enhanced 911 service capability that enables the automatic display of the ten-digit number used to place a 911 call from a wire line, wireless, voice over internet protocol, or any nontraditional phone service;

4. (4) “Basic 911 system” means a system by which the various emergency functions provided by public safety agencies within each political subdivision may be accessed utilizing the three-digit number 911, but no available options are included in the system;

5. (5) “Chief executive” means the Governor, county judges, mayors, city managers, or city administrators of incorporated places, and is synonymous with head of government, dependent on the level and form of government;

6. (6) “CMRS connection” means each account or number assigned to a CMRS customer;

7. (7)

   1. (A) “Commercial mobile radio service” or “CMRS” means commercial mobile service under §§ 3(33) and 332(d), Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq., Federal Communications Commission rules, and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.

   2. (B) “Commercial mobile radio service” or “CMRS” includes any wireless or two-way communication device that has the capability of connecting to a public safety answering point;

8. (8) “Dispatch center” means a public or private agency that dispatches public or private safety agencies but does not operate a public safety answering point;

9. (9) “Enhanced 911 network features” means those features of selective routing that have the capability of automatic number and location identification;

10. (10)

    1. (A) “Enhanced 911 system” means enhanced 911 service, which is a telephone exchange communications service consisting of telephone network features and public safety answering points designated by the chief executive that enables users of the public telephone system to access a public safety answering point by dialing the digits “911”.

    2. (B) The enhanced 911 system directs 911 calls to appropriate public safety answering points by selective routing based on the geographical location from which the call originated and provides the capability for automatic number identification and automatic location identification;

11. (11)

    1. (A) “ESINet” means a managed internet protocol network that is used for emergency services communications that can be shared by all public safety agencies and that provides the internet protocol transport infrastructure upon which independent application platforms and core services can be deployed, including without limitation those services necessary for providing next generation 911 services.

    2. (B) “ESINet” is the designation for the network, but not the services on the network;

12. (12) “Exchange access facilities” means all lines provided by the service supplier for the provision of local exchange service;

13. (13) “Geographic information system” means a system for capturing, storing, displaying, analyzing, and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced;

14. (14) “Governing authority” means county quorum courts and governing bodies of municipalities;

15. (15) “Next generation 911” means a secure, internet protocol-based, open standards system, composed of hardware, software, data, and operation policies and procedures, that:

    1. (A) Provides standardized interfaces from emergency call and message services to support emergency communications;

    2. (B) Processes all types of emergency calls, including voice, text, data, and multimedia information;

    3. (C) Acquires and integrates additional emergency call data useful to call routing and handling;

    4. (D) Delivers the emergency calls, messages, and data to the appropriate public safety answering point and other appropriate emergency entities based on the location of the caller;

    5. (E) Supports data, video, and other communications needs for coordinated incident response and management; and

    6. (F) Interoperates with services and networks used by first responders to facilitate emergency response;

16. (16) “Nontraditional phone service” means any service that:

    1. (A) Enables real-time voice communications from the user's location to customer premise equipment;

    2. (B) Permits users to receive calls that originate on the public switched telephone network or to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network; and

    3. (C) Has the capability of placing a 911 call;

17. (17) “Nontraditional phone service connection” means each account or number assigned to a nontraditional phone service customer;

18. (18)

    1. (A) “Operating agency” means the public safety agency authorized and designated by the chief executive of the political subdivision to operate a public safety answering point.

    2. (B) Operating agencies are limited to offices of emergency services, fire departments, and law enforcement agencies of the political subdivisions;

19. (19) “Prepaid wireless telecommunications service” means a prepaid wireless calling service as defined in § 26-52-314;

20. (20) “Private safety agency” means any entity, except a public safety agency, providing emergency fire, ambulance, or emergency medical services;

21. (21) “Public safety agency” means an agency of the State of Arkansas or a functional division of a political subdivision that provides firefighting, rescue, natural, or human-caused disaster or major emergency response, law enforcement, and ambulance or emergency medical services;

22. (22) “Public safety answering point” means the location at which all 911 communications are initially answered that is operated on a twenty-four-hour basis by an operating agency and dispatches two (2) or more public safety agencies;

23. (23) “Public safety officers” means specified personnel of public safety agencies;

24. (24) “Readiness costs” means equipment and payroll costs associated with equipment, call takers, and dispatchers on standby waiting for 911 calls;

25. (25) “Selective routing” means the method employed to direct 911 calls to the appropriate public safety answering point based on the geographical location from which the call originated;

26. (26) “Service supplier” means any person, company, or corporation, public or private, providing exchange telephone service, nontraditional phone service, voice over internet protocol service, or CMRS service throughout the political subdivision;

27. (27) “Service user” means any person, company, corporation, business, association, or party not exempt from county or municipal taxes or utility franchise assessments that is provided landline telephone service, CMRS service, voice over internet protocol service, or any nontraditional phone service with the capability of placing a 911 call in the political subdivision;

28. (28) “Short message service” means a service typically provided by mobile carriers that sends short messages to an endpoint;

29. (29)

    1. (A) “Tariff rate” means the rate or rates billed by a service supplier as stated in the service supplier's tariffs, price lists, customer contracts, or other methods of publishing service offerings that represent the service supplier's recurring charges for exchange access facilities, exclusive of all:

       1. (i) Taxes;

       2. (ii) Fees;

       3. (iii) Licenses; or

       4. (iv) Similar charges whatsoever.

    2. (B) The tariff rate per county may include extended service area charges only if an emergency telephone service charge has been levied in a county and a resolution of intent has been passed by a county's quorum court that defines tariff rate as being inclusive of extended service area charges;

30. (30) “Telecommunicator” means a person employed by a public safety answering point or an emergency medical dispatcher service provider, or both, who is qualified to answer incoming emergency telephone calls or provide for the appropriate emergency response, or both, either directly or through communication with the appropriate public safety answering point;

31. (31) “Voice over internet protocol connection” means each account or number assigned to a voice over internet protocol customer;

32. (32) “Voice over internet protocol service” means any service that:

    1. (A) Enables real-time voice communications;

    2. (B) Requires a broadband connection from the user's location;

    3. (C) Requires internet protocol compatible customer premise equipment;

    4. (D) Permits users to receive calls that originate on the public switched telephone network or to terminate calls to the public switched telephone network; and

    5. (E) Has the capability of placing a 911 call; and

33. (33) “Wireless telecommunications service provider” means a provider of commercial mobile radio services:

    1. (A) As defined in 47 U.S.C. § 332(b), as it existed on January 1, 2006, including all broadband personal communications services, wireless radio telephone services, geographic-area-specialized and enhanced-specialized mobile radio services, and incumbent, wide area, specialized mobile radio licensees that offer real-time, two-way voice service interconnected with the public switched telephone network; and

    2. (B) That either:

       1. (i) Is doing business in the State of Arkansas; or

       2. (ii) May connect with a public safety answering point.