🇺🇸United States

E911 Database Errors Triggering Fines and Lawsuits

2 verified sources

Definition

Telecommunications carriers face class-action lawsuits and regulatory fines due to inaccurate E911 database maintenance, such as mis-situsing addresses across emergency jurisdictions leading to underbilling of 911 fees. A documented 2017 case involved two Georgia counties suing 15 phone companies for deliberately underbilled $50 million in E911 fees. FCC violations incur fines up to $10,000 plus $500 per day per device, with ongoing risks from inconsistent GIS data and boundary updates.

Key Findings

  • Financial Impact: $50 million in lawsuit (historical case); $10,000 + $500/day/device ongoing
  • Frequency: Ongoing - recurring audits and violations
  • Root Cause: Inconsistent GIS standards, overlapping emergency boundaries, and delayed jurisdiction updates in E911 databases

Why This Matters

This pain point represents a significant opportunity for B2B solutions targeting Telecommunications Carriers.

Affected Stakeholders

Compliance Officers, Database Administrators, GIS Specialists, Regulatory Affairs Managers

Deep Analysis (Premium)

Financial Impact

$10,000 + $500/day per CLEC customer device for E911 accuracy violations; $50,000,000+ class-action exposure (demonstrated by 2017 Georgia case); regulatory fines of $2,400-$4,000 per filing infraction; potential phone service suspension for repeat violations • $10,000 + $500/day per device for FCC violations; $40,000,000+ exposure per wrongful death lawsuit; documented $50,000,000 class-action judgment (2017 Georgia case: 15 carriers sued for underbilled E911 fees) • $10,000 + $500/day per VoIP device for Kari's Law and RAY BAUM's Act violations; $40,000,000+ wrongful death liability; FCC consent decree penalties ($100,000+ per carrier per incident); operational fines from 911 outage fallout ($19,500,000 T-Mobile precedent)

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Current Workarounds

Billing Operations Manager at government agency manually compares carrier-reported service areas against known GIS boundaries using spreadsheets; chases carriers for documentation via email; escalates discrepancies to finance • CABS Specialist manually queries location database; cross-references with GIS maps (paper or PDF); enters 911 fees into billing system by hand • CABS Specialist manually tracks government agency VoIP endpoints by address; applies 911 fees based on outdated GIS data; uses email for tariff updates

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Methodology & Sources

Data collected via OSINT from regulatory filings, industry audits, and verified case studies.

Evidence Sources:

Related Business Risks

FCC Fines for CPNI Authentication and Safeguard Violations

$20M per enforcement action

Unbilled and Underbilled Access Minutes from Weak CABS Reconciliation

JSI reports recovering ‘lost revenue’ through CABS audits, and CSS notes that reconciliation is required to ‘ensure that all usage is billed, and billed at the proper rates’; industry revenue‑assurance benchmarks typically show 1–3% of access revenue is recoverable when such audits are first implemented (low millions of dollars per year for a mid‑size carrier).

Continued Billing at Wrong Access Rates after Tariff/Contract Changes

SociumIT notes that rate and pricing errors typically represent 15–25% of recoverable telecom billing errors in enterprise audits; for access services, similar error types on either side of the interconnect can easily amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in underbilled revenue for a regional carrier.[5]

Overpayment of Interconnect and Access Charges Due to Weak Reconciliation

Enterprise‑side carrier bill reconciliation audits show mobile and telecom expenses running 15–25% higher than they should be because of overcharges and billing errors, which are then reduced after thorough reconciliation; similar overbilling patterns on carrier‑to‑carrier invoices can easily translate into seven‑figure annual excess payments for large operators.[4][5]

Paying for Disconnected or Non‑Inventory Access Services

SociumIT reports that errors such as billing continuation beyond disconnect dates account for an estimated 15–25% of recoverable billing errors in most audits; depending on the size of the access inventory, this can represent tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in unnecessary access cost.[5]

Billing Disputes and Write‑offs from CABS Data Discrepancies

Interconnect billing practices note that when reconciliation does not settle discrepancies, partners negotiate and 'finally, matter is settled by paying some nominal amount to the impacted interconnect partner,' implying systematic erosion of billable revenue on disputed traffic each month; for high‑traffic interconnects, even low single‑digit percentages of disputed minutes can equate to substantial annual write‑offs.[2]

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