FCC Adopts Rules to Help Responders Better Locate Wireless 911 Callers
911 services should be at least as good as Uber and others in finding indoor locations from cell location services, the catch in this conundrum is that those services have people configure smart phones to use location services. Not all users turn on GPS, and not all users will have smart phones.
FCC ADOPTS RULES TO HELP EMERGENCY RESPONDERS BETTER LOCATE WIRELESS 911 CALLERS
Washington, D.C. - The Federal Communications Commission today adopted rules to help emergency responders better locate wireless callers to 911. These updates to the Commission’s Enhanced 911 (E911) rules respond to Americans’ increasing use of wireless phones to call 911, especially from indoors, where traditional 911 location technologies often do not work effectively or at all. The new rules take advantage of technological developments that will allow for more accurate location information to be transmitted with indoor 911 calls. The Commission’s E911 rules require wireless providers to automatically transmit to 911 call centers information on the location of wireless 911 callers, within certain parameters for accuracy. These rules, which were adopted in 1996 and underwent their last major revision in 2010, enabled wireless providers to meet this accuracy standard based solely on the measured performance of outdoor wireless 911 calls.However calling habits are changing. Many Americans are replacing landlines with wireless phones, with more than two out of five U.S. households now relying solely on wireless. Most 911 calls are currently made from wireless phones, and most wireless calls are made from indoors. This increases the likelihood that wireless 911 calls will come from indoor environments where traditional location accuracy technologies, optimized for outdoor calling, may not work. To close this gap in performance, the Commission today updated its E911 rules to include requirements focused on indoor location accuracy. We all know how commercial location-based services like Uber can find their users reliably and consistently. If we can have an app that gets a car service to the right door, we certainly should be able to get 911 to the right door consistently and reliably. It is a simple public interest obligation. -Chairman WheelerThe new rules are intended to help first responders locate Americans calling for help from indoors, including challenging environments such as large multi-story buildings, where responders are often unable to determine the floor or even the building where the 911 call originated. The new rules establish clear and measureable timelines for wireless providers to meet indoor location accuracy benchmarks, both for horizontal and vertical location information. The Commission noted that no single technological approach will solve the challenge of indoor location, and no solution can be implemented overnight. The new requirements therefore enable wireless providers to choose the most effective solutions and allow sufficient time for development of applicable standards, establishment of testing mechanisms, and deployment of new location technology. The new rules were informed by extensive input from stakeholders, including public safety organizations, wireless providers, technology vendors, state and local governments, and public interest groups. The Commission emphasized that its ultimate objective in this proceeding is for all Americans - whether they are calling 911 from urban or rural areas, from indoors or outdoors - to receive the support they need in times of emergency. Today’s action takes affirmative steps to make that happen.
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