Technology Aims To Locate 911 Calls
By KALPANA SRINIVASAN
12:34 PM ET 09/15/99
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators are taking the next steps toward ensuring
that cell phone users who dial 911 automatically give emergency dispatchers a key piece of
information: their location. The action today by the Federal Communications Commission
sets the technology standards for cellular companies to follow as they make 911 caller
location available in their phones. Regulators hope that cellular companies will begin
providing phones with locator technology within two years. The commission voted 5-0 to set
the rules.
``This decision will save lives without question,'' said FCC Chairman Bill
Kennard in an interview. In situations such as auto accidents, when a few hours can mean
the difference between life and death, knowing the location increases chances that
emergency personnel will get to the scene on time, Kennard said. Currently, when a person
makes a 911 call from a regular wireline phone, say from home or work, the location of the
caller will pop up on a screen read by emergency dispatchers. Regulators want to see
similar information provided for cellular 911 calls. In 1996, the FCC adopted rules
requiring wireless carriers to set up systems by Oct. 1, 2001, that could locate a
cellular caller within 410 feet.
New innovations have cropped up since then so cellular companies now have some
choices in reaching this goal, Kennard said. The FCC is trying to lay out the rules
carriers must follow, but are staying neutral on which technology to select, he said.
One option wireless companies have is to modify their network so they can track
their customers. That way, the system could work with the existing 65 million wireless
phones nationwide, said Mike Amarosa, vice president of public affairs for TruePosition
Inc., which has opted to develop this kind of technology.
Other carriers are leaning toward building the technology right into the phone
handset. The phones then could be pinpointed by the Defense Department's Global
Positioning System.
Companies designing the location devices for the handsets say it offers even
greater accuracy and flexibility for future advances. ``It lends itself very readily to
continual upgrades,'' said Ellen Kirk, vice president of marketing and strategic planning
for the San Jose-based SnapTrack Inc.
But such a plan also would require wireless customers either to replace or
upgrade the phones they have. For this reason, regulators also must consider how such a
system would be phased in. Some privacy advocates have raised concerns that there exists
the potential for abuse in a system that has network-wide location tracking built in. But
industry leaders say companies are only going to be using the technology to find people
who want to be found.
``We operate in a very competitive market. I don't think any carrier would be
dumb enough to try and do that,'' said Michael Altschul, vice president of the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association.
Public safety officials say their main concern is to see that the safety
enhancement makes its way to consumers. ``The clear goal is to jump start this process and
to see location technology arrive on the scene,'' said Joe Hanna, president of the
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials.
In other matters, the FCC today:
- Decided what pieces of their network Bell companies and other major local
phone providers must make available for rivals to lease.
- Voted to provide U.S. companies with direct access to the international
satellite consortium Intelsat, allowing it to bypass Comsat Corp. for services. The
commission also authorized defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. to purchase up to 49
percent of Comsat.
- Largely kept in place its limits on how much spectrum can be licensed by a
single wireless carrier within a particular geographic area.
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